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lydamorehouseI have been reading and consuming a literal f*ck ton thanks to my new podcast. Once again, I will break things down by category.
BOOKS
SHORT STORIES
MANGA:
I am only just in the B's of the alphabetical list of cyberpunk manga generated for me by Baka-Updates. But, I got through several over the last week:
I also started and didn't yet finish Blame! by Nihei Tsutomu.
THINGS WATCHED:
In amongst all of this cyberpunk stuff, it is also the Japanese Film Festival Online (until June 18) and, while I'm not trying to catch everything (which would be darn near impossible, given that there are hundreds of films available,) I did pick up at least one other film this last week.
So, that's been a lot. How about you? What 'cha reading these days?
BOOKS
I started and finished listening to Annalee Newitz's novel Autonomous, which I sort of hated? I had real issues with the character of Paladin for reasons which I will only get into privately, so if you want to know reach out. But, it is definitely cyberpunk and queer, so it's on the list to talk about next week.
The only other cyberpunk book that my library had available as an audiobook was Charlie Stross's Rule 34, which... is pretty fascinating so far, if only because it is told in the second person.
The only other cyberpunk book that my library had available as an audiobook was Charlie Stross's Rule 34, which... is pretty fascinating so far, if only because it is told in the second person.
SHORT STORIES
"Papa's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird," by Lillian Boyd (Fireside, June 2021). Another story of hyper-capitalism, where our heroes come together to try to fix a problem caused by renting out your own head for ad space. It feels weirdly plausible in a depressing way.
"Across the River, My Heart, My Memory," by Ann LeBlanc (Fireside, July 2021). A story told from the point of view of someone's black market mod pancreas. Yes, the pancreas is telling the story, you heard that right. You kind of have to read it to believe it, but it works. The protag is a pancreas that has the stored memories of a lesbian who is part of a kind of institutional memory coop, which feels very 1990s dyke culture to me... and so read very authentically queer, if you know what I mean.
"Cruise Control," by Benjamin C. Kinney (Fireside, July 2021), which is about a guy who talks his grandpa into becoming a car. it's not gay in any way that I could see, but it is very, very cyberpunk.
"Cruise Control," by Benjamin C. Kinney (Fireside, July 2021), which is about a guy who talks his grandpa into becoming a car. it's not gay in any way that I could see, but it is very, very cyberpunk.
"Clown Watches the Clown" by Sara S. Messenger, which is... clown beating fetish + unions??? It is rare that I leave a story and think, "What did I just read?" but this was definitely one of them. Also, not sure how cyberpunk-y it is, outside of the world being very dystopian and the characters been very much part of the underclass. Kind of worth a read, though?
MANGA:
I am only just in the B's of the alphabetical list of cyberpunk manga generated for me by Baka-Updates. But, I got through several over the last week:
AD. Police by Suzuki Toshimichi / Tony Takezaki, which is apparently part of a fairly popular franchise that I had never heard of, but which is kind of a Blade Runner rip-off, in that basically these are cops who hunt down robot crimes (a theme that will continue as we go down the list.)
Armored Gull: The Exoskeleton Frame by Las, a Korean manhua which only had a few chapters published, so I was left wondering when the cyberpunk part would hit. Currently, it seems to be a mecha manga, which is very pretty? There may be a plot coming (as it seems to have been somewhat telegraphed) that our young scientist hero is maybe NOT who he says he is.
Armitage the Third by Konaka Chiaki / Ikegami Tatsuya--another manga from a surprisingly large franchise of movies and anime. I had so much trouble reading more than a couple of chapters of this that I should probably put this one in the next category, which is things watched. I hunted down the first episode of a four part OVA of this just so I could get a better sense of it. It's basically about Martian cops who hunt down illegal robots and prosecute robot crimes. The twist here is that our heroine, Armitage, is herself a third generation robot virtually indistinguishable from humans.
Armored Gull: The Exoskeleton Frame by Las, a Korean manhua which only had a few chapters published, so I was left wondering when the cyberpunk part would hit. Currently, it seems to be a mecha manga, which is very pretty? There may be a plot coming (as it seems to have been somewhat telegraphed) that our young scientist hero is maybe NOT who he says he is.
Armitage the Third by Konaka Chiaki / Ikegami Tatsuya--another manga from a surprisingly large franchise of movies and anime. I had so much trouble reading more than a couple of chapters of this that I should probably put this one in the next category, which is things watched. I hunted down the first episode of a four part OVA of this just so I could get a better sense of it. It's basically about Martian cops who hunt down illegal robots and prosecute robot crimes. The twist here is that our heroine, Armitage, is herself a third generation robot virtually indistinguishable from humans.
I also started and didn't yet finish Blame! by Nihei Tsutomu.
THINGS WATCHED:
In amongst all of this cyberpunk stuff, it is also the Japanese Film Festival Online (until June 18) and, while I'm not trying to catch everything (which would be darn near impossible, given that there are hundreds of films available,) I did pick up at least one other film this last week.
BL Metamorphosis, directed by Kariyama Shunsuki, which is based on a manga of the same name by Tsurutani Kaori. This film was INSANELY CHARMING. It's about a friendship that forms between a 78-year old woman and a 15 year old girl over their mutual appreciation of a particular yaoi series. I've been describing this to a lot of people because I love it so much, but one of the things that makes the movie awesome is that it's paced just like a yaoi, there's even a kind of "break-up due to easily solved miscommunication" that happens about 2/3rd in and they get a very satisfying friendship version of an HEA. There's even an element of forbidden love, because at one point the 15 year old gets asked who that woman is to her and she shouts, "She's not my grandma!" and runs away, ashamed, just like what happens in a lot of yaoi stories when someone first suggests to the hero that he might be gay.
Then, I watched the Netflix original anime movie based on Blame! (2017) directed by Seshita Hiroyuki and I'm not ashamed to say I liked it. Apparently, it gets a lot of hate because it's not a faithful adaptation of the manga, but I've been having a hard time getting into the manga, so I'm not sure I care.
Then, I watched the Netflix original anime movie based on Blame! (2017) directed by Seshita Hiroyuki and I'm not ashamed to say I liked it. Apparently, it gets a lot of hate because it's not a faithful adaptation of the manga, but I've been having a hard time getting into the manga, so I'm not sure I care.
So, that's been a lot. How about you? What 'cha reading these days?