RJ Writing Ink

Housing Complex C Ep 1 Review

When I was in college, I took a class on the subject of American Gothic. one story I vividly remember reading in that class was Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Essentially, it was a story about a New England fishing town that the Deep Ones occupied, immortal, humanoid fish people disguised as humans. One of Lovecraft’s most famous works, its legacy can still be felt today. And now, Toonami’s offering their take on it. Just in time for Halloween is their new horror miniseries, Housing Complex C, and if the first episode is any indication, then this will be very dark.

Welcome to Kurosaki and Housing Complex C

In the Japanese seaside town of Kurosaki, there’s a low-cost apartment complex, Housing Complex C. Most of the tenants consist of adults and the elderly, with the sole exception being Kimi, this bright and happy 9-year-old that everyone dotes over. Housing Complex C seems like a peaceful place, until the day some new tenants move in, interns working for a fishing company. 

The upside is that one of the new tenants is a family with a daughter Kimi’s age, Yuri, and the two seem to become best friends. It feels like a nice, peaceful, slice-of-life story.

Don’t be fooled. That’s just how the story wants us to think so it can lull us into a false sense of security. It’s made clear early on that there’s something afoot in Kurosaki, and Housing Complex C stands at its center.

The Facts of the Case

Exhibit A: the flashback. In the first few minutes, we’re treated to this flashback to events centuries ago. This group of warriors attacks the island and slaughters everyone, until all that’s left is this young girl around Kimi and Yuri’s age. Then this girl screams, and all the warriors turn to ash. That’s a pretty big indication that Kurosaki’s hiding a dark and bloody past.

Exhibit B: The Adults and Kimi go inside this old storeroom that someone built and kept stuff in years ago. Now, this isn’t really evidence, but seeing a mummified dog is pretty messed up. What is evidence is this little stone that has this broken star drawn onto it; that’s got to mean something.

Lastly, we have exhibit C: some of the residents of Housing Complex C are weird, and I mean in a creepy way. There’s this long-time resident that’s this shut-in guy. He spends all his time researching the Cthulu mythos and making drawings of what he learns. It’s almost like he knows that something bad’s about to go down. 

Lovecraftian Themes Already Shown

Then there’s the interns themselves, and how they’re all foreigners. Now, on the surface, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. However, those who know H.P. Lovecraft should understand something important about the man: Lovecraft was racist. He wasn’t subtle about it, either. A lot of the monsters in his stories were racist caricatures or metaphors for it. It seemed as though Lovecraft had a massive fear of the Other, and this bled into his stories. 

In recent years, writers have made strides to separate Lovecraft’s racist portrayals from Lovecraftian lore, but it can still show. Case in point, one of the elderly tenants of Housing Complex C confronts the interns when she hears them making strange sounds. It turns out, they were just doing their morning prayers. Or, that’s what it seems like.

Don’t Expect a Happy Ending

Look, I’m pretty sure that those “Interns” are going to be Deep Ones in disguise, so the old woman’s paranoia is justified, just not in the way she thinks. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the next episode of this month-long miniseries, but one thing’s for sure. I’m now hooked on Housing Complex C, and I can’t wait to see how it ends. I doubt that it will be a happy ending, though.

I Give “Optical Illusion” a 4.5/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 209 Review/Recap

When we were introduced to this Universe’s version of Captain Connor and learned his backstory, a few theories went around. Fans heard about how Connor lost his wife and child years ago and went to the stars to search for them, which got people’s gears turning. Pretty soon, that theory started spreading around Reddit like crazy. It turns out fans were right on the money. The theory about Connor and his long-lost family is true. 

Side note: I like Sister’s outfit on this cover.

Recap

Having wiped Cure/Dead End Crow from existence, the Edens Zero and Oracion Seis Interstelar their victory over the evil robot. However, they also believe Cure managed to dupe them all for a decade. 

In the meantime, Homura returns with the Moms of Edens Zero, much to the crew’s surprise. The surprise only continues when Connor recognizes Rebecca’s Mom. Because, as it turns out…Saintfire Nox is his long-lost wife. 

In other words, Rebecca is Connor’s daughter! 

The Stars of Edens figured it out for themselves. 

As for Pino, she reveals her plan to stop Ziggy. When Ziggy hacked into her CPU, he left a data trail. As Shiki guessed, Ziggy did know he’d go nuts, and so left the key to a certain EMP frequency to Pino, one that can affect him. As a result of that, Pino manages to enter Overdrive, and hits Ziggy with the full blast of her EMP, returning him to the original, friendly personality of his past life. It’s only a temporary effect, though, as Ziggy then asks Shiki and Pino to kill him.

Review

Well, what do you know? I guess the fan theory about Connor being Rebecca’s father was right! On the one hand, that makes it awesome that fans predicted that. On the other hand, that makes his time in the ship’s baths with Rebecca and Homura  even more uncomfortable than it already was. It also makes the fact that the Connor in the previous Universe tried to kill them even worse.

This revelation only creates more mysteries regarding the overarching story. How were Rebecca and her Mom separated from Connor? Why was Rebecca left abandoned on Bluegarden as a child? There’s more to this story, and I hope that we can learn more about it soon. Also, this means that Rebecca has another family to spend time with.

As for Ziggy, it looks like Shiki’s idea that his counterpart knew he’d go insane was right. That also means that, technically, my theory about Ziggy not really being evil ended up being right as well. It seems that Ziggy’s developed a split personality: the good half that raised himself and the one wants to destroy humanity. How this came to be, is anybody’s guess. However, I’m hoping we learn the truth soon. This is getting interesting.

As for how Cure covered his tracks…I don’t care. At all. 

A Call to Arms for the D&A Anime Blog

One last thing: I wanted to send out a call to arms on behalf of my friends from the D&A Anime Blog. You may or may not know this, but they recently started opening themselves up for outside contributors to write guest articles. I’ve been writing for them on occasion, but they’re still looking for more people to write for them. If you want to help,  head over to their blog and contact them about it. Tell them RJ sent you!

I Give “Renewed Time” a 3.8/5

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Hocus Pocus 2 Review

In July 1993, Disney released a comedic film named Hocus Pocus. Situated in Salem, the film told the story of the Sanderson Sisters, three Witches who returned from the grave to seek revenge on Salem. Given how it was a Disney film, though, Hocus Pocus was less scary and more funny. The movie wound up failing at the box office, and I’m sure that had nothing to do with the fact that Disney released it in the Summer rather than around Halloween.

Despite the critics ripping on it, though, time, and fans, proved the critics wrong. Disney started running it on TV every year in October, and the next thing we know, it’s a major hit. Everyone loves the Sanderson Sisters and wants to see more of them! Thus, after years of asking and asking, Disney gave the fans what they wanted, Hocus Pocus 2.

They also made sure to release it around Halloween this time.

The Witches are Back!

It’s been 29 years since the events of Hocus Pocus that saw the return of the Sanderson Sisters. Since that day, though, they’ve become more famous than ever. Now, in the year 2022, a trio of teenage girls, estranged by the pressures of high school, gather together to conduct their own witchly spell in the forests of Salem. Little do they know, but their actions end up bringing the Sanderson Sisters back! Again! Now, the Sisters seek to become more powerful than ever and take their ultimate revenge on the town that shunned them!

And it is hilarious!!

Now, I’ll confess: I haven’t seen the original film in its entirety; I did see a large chunk of it at a party once, but that’s about it. However, what I did see was enough to let me know that when it comes to being hammy, the Sanderson Sisters have few equals. They’re large and in charge with their personalities, and when they show up onscreen, you can’t help but pay attention to what they’re saying and doing. It’s clear that even after all these years, Bette Mildler, Sarah Jessica Parker, & Kathy Kajimy give their all returning to the role as the witchy trio. I couldn’t look away from them, not even for a second; they haven’t changed at all!

Some fans have joked that the Sanderson Sisters’ actresses haven’t aged a day in the last 30 years, and I love it.

The Sanderson Sisters are Cool Now

What has, changed, though, is evident from the start: our cultural perception of magic and witches. Back in 1993, seeing people on the streets saying that they wanted to be witches would be enough to make people look at you like you were weird, dangerous, maybe even both. In recent years, though, it seems like society’s had this epiphany. Like, many people collectively said, “you know what? This magic and witchcraft stuff is cool! Let’s do more of that!” In other words, we’ve become more accepting of the weird and supernatural, as though we wish it was real.

Nowhere is this seen better than in how the townspeople of Salem treat the Sanderson Sisters. The first time around, they would’ve seen them as weird or just really into their characters. Several times in the film, though, the Sisters get stopped by fans wanting to get selfies or autographs. They love them!

All of this sells the big point the film’s trying to make, though: just because something’s weird or different doesn’t make it evil. As one of the adults in the film puts it, the Sandersons weren’t bad, just misunderstood in their time. While it’s true they were, the Sanderson Sisters are proud of how bad they are. However, if they’d been born in the modern-day, people might have accepted them more than the narrow-minded Puritans of old Salem.

Good Dynamic With the Modern-Day Heroes

Of course, the Sanderson Sisters find themselves contrasted by their modern-day counterparts of Becca, Izzy, and Cassie, three childhood friends who have started drifting apart due to the curse of all teenagers: bad communication. Much of the conflict between them comes from the fact that Cassie’s newer group of friends aren’t very nice to Becca and Izzy, reflecting how people can still be outcast today. That, and Cassie’s boyfriend is an idiot that doesn’t even realize he’s being mean to them.

I won’t go into how the film ends or the teens of today reconcile, but the whole moral comes down to always having the backs of the people you care most about. Because without them, you’re nothing.

I Can See Why Fans Wanted Hocus Pocus 2 So Bad

Hocus Pocus 2 is, by far, not the best Halloween film I’ve ever seen, nor is it the funniest. However, it is still pretty darn funny. I loved watching it, and I can now see why the original became such a cult hit. This might have to be added to my list of things to watch every Halloween.

I Give “Hocus Pocus 2” a 4/5