quietmoon | sunshine_challenge 2019: Prompt 3

Prompt 3: Canon Recommendations — we invite everyone to share with others the books, movies, series, or other media that they love.

There were two ways I could have done this prompt: go super in depth into one thing that I really, really love, or give brief recs for lots of things I love. I decided to go with the latter for today. I'm slow to get into things, and a lot of these are from many years ago, so... if younger me's taste turns out to be questionable... *big shrug* I don't know where I was going with that. Anyway! Cool things!

(I would also like to preface this about why my most obvious rec, Transformers: Prime, is not on this list. I have not in fact sat down and watched it yet. (￣︶￣;) When I finally get round to that, you bet your ass I'll be back to let you all know why I still think it's great lol.)

TV — Dinosaur Revolution: I... Listen. This is a CGI psuedo nature documentary about dinosaurs, but rather than going in the vein of Walking With Dinosaurs' David Attonborough vibe, Dinosaur Revolution is a) American, and therefore absurdly over the top, and b) rich with comedy, and a weirdly emotional watch. The dinosaurs are anthropomorphised to a degree, with the odd eye-roll or glare, and have quirky personalities and get up to all sorts of mischief. Like I said, it's over the top, and I'm sure not for everyone. (There's also some odd inaccuracies considering it was made in 2011, but who cares, nobody really watches these for purely scientific discovery.) My point is, it's entertaining and heartwarming, it has a healthy runtime of CGI dinosaurs, and the last episode made me cry really hard and draft up a happy ending for the victims of the inevitable extinction. I would heartily recommend it.

Film — The Martian (2015): This is one of my favourite movies of all time. The story has a grisly premise — in the near future during an emergency evac, one of a team of scientists gets stranded on Mars, and has to figure out... well, everything; how to survive, how to stay sane, how to let NASA know he's still alive, etc. But it's a film with a lot of heart, and just like the book it's based on, it is before all things a comedy. The humour is punchy and the writing witty, with characters that are very human and believable. It's brilliantly acted, the soundtrack absolutely slaps, and... ugh. I rewatch it multiple times a year, I adore this movie so much. It's the perfect blend of sci-fi and comedy and gut-punch, and I recommend it to literally everyone who asks me for movie suggestions. And if anyone wants to talk to me about my alien OC x Watney fic, you know where to find me.

Youtube — The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: I'm a big Austen nut so this list would be remiss without something like this. I'm confident most folk who are into these kinds of works/stories have already seen the period romance/comedy films I would recommend (not that that would usually prevent me from recommending them anyway lol) but here's one I haven't seen talked about much! This is a YouTube vlogging-style modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It was hugely popular in the circles I frequented at the time, but who knows? If it's gone under your radar, it might just be your cup of tea. It's very much a product of its time and context, but the novel take on the source material is — at least to me — fresh and intriguing while still faithful to the beloved canon. It's really well acted, it's a little camp (but I personally love that about it), and it's clear a lot of heart and thought went into its making. If you like P&P and vlogs, it should be a delight to experience.

Anime series — Fairy Tail: As one of the Big Three (do they still call them that idk askjldfh I am no longer in the loop), this shounen series is likely familiar at least in name to most anime fans. It's set in a fantasy world where magic exists — not wands and spells, but more in the vein of sorcery and Avatar: The Last Airbender, where for some it's like a martial art, some have very specific innate abilities, some are adept with certain items, etc. — and follows the story of a girl named Lucy who recently left home to join one of the mage guilds, Fairy Tail, so that she can earn a living and grow more powerful. The characters really make it; there's a huge cast, and so many are so compelling and interesting and fleshed out that you really get attached (also, redemption arcs galore). The music and voice acting is also stellar. Its ridiculous length does serve as a bar of entry, but I think it's still compelling enough in the first couple episodes that if you find yourself interested, you can get a lot of pleasure out of the story. (Years after I stopped writing for it, I still get ideas all the time! And I still haven't finished it lol.) Oh, and it's actually complete!

Anime Film/Manga — Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice): I don't want to say too much for this one at the risk of spoiling anything. It's an animated movie, based on the longer manga of the same name. Rather than stopping midway, the movie elects to tell the whole story while cutting out the subplots it could while retaining enough to stay faithful. The story revolves around a deaf girl, and one of the boys who tormented her at school; it's about pain, and guilt, and forgiveness, and healing. The music is beautiful, as is the art and animation, and I've genuinely not come across many stories that hit me quite as hard as this one. I think there's a magical quality to it. I revisit this movie when I need to feel hopeful about things. I would warn that while grounded and full of sweet every-day fluff, the subject matter is actually very heavy, and if you have triggers surrounding poor mental health and suicide, to risk spoiling yourself and looking up content warnings before watching and reading.

Game — Thomas Was Alone: This is a short indie platforming game in which you play as a small red rectangle called Thomas. The levels vary in difficulty, as do the abilities as you advance, but consistently through your playthrough a narrator (who is excellently voice acted) subtly explains the story to you. I play a ton of indie games, and many have a lot of heart, but this was on a whole new level for me. I never thought I would cry over a rectangle, but by the end I was so attached. The gameplay is fun, but the experience as a whole raises it above great to one of my favourite games ever. Or, if you don't want to play a platformer, another one of this dev's games (Subsurface Circular) is another short one that I instantly recommend. You play as a robot on an underground metro who talks to other robots, and through this simple gameplay loop you learn about the world and the story. I love them.

And that's it!

I don't often recommend stuff since my likes and dislikes are heavily based on my personal emotional reaction to media. I know it's very subjective and if our tastes don't line up at all, you may not like any of these. But if any do stand out to you, I hope you can give them a try! Feel free to ask any questions you might have. ^_^ I haven't included where to find all but one of these since links break and streaming services are constantly changing stuff up (argh), but if you can't find something you want to try out/don't know where to look, I'll try help where I can.