D @ vA Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca e ‘Scoob and Shag’ Webtoon review ¢ 2020 Canadian Screen Awards nominations includes local actor ¢ ‘Life’s Little Instruction Book’ review ..and more Does the Princess deserve her crown? >» ‘Princess Mononoke’ movie review Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor kek KK Suse Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke is among the most revered Hayao Miyazaki films (alongside classics such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro). It follows a young prince named Ashitaka on his quest to cure his demon wound and bring peace to both forest spirits and humans during their war. Personally, the character I connected to most was Ashitaka since he personifies most of my values. While he was suffering and trying to be cured by the Forest Spirit, he never failed to help out either human or forest spirit. He had no stance against the two parties, nor was he ever the main enemy of either. This led to him being distrusted by both sides. He kind of drifted between the groups—allowing the viewers to see that both sides had good (and bad) reasons for their actions. The story is written so that you can fairly understand the plights of all characters. It is interesting to know all sides of the story; it allows for the creation of an informed personal opinion. Most stories are told exclusively from the perspective of the lead character, and that leads to predictable bias. However, this movie is far gorier than most Ghibli movies I’ve seen. The only comparable one (in organic ambience and war plot) would be Nausicad of the Valley of the Wind. Or even Ponyo on the Cliff, in reference to the war between the earth and Scooby Snacks and severed limbs the humans harvesting resources while disrespecting the ecosystem. Despite Princess Mononoke being an animated film, the violence is rather unpleasant. There are countless severed limbs, beheadings, and humans killed by animal attacks. These beast attacks are often just throwaway moments, even when entire armies are attacked. Dozens of deaths occurred and the army leader just continued their trek. If this hasn’t made my point, there’s even a scene where Ashitaka is seen pulling potential corpses lying in a river. » ‘Scoob and Shag’ Webtoon review Athena Little Illustrator wkweK KY Bi hold on to your Scooby Snacks— the greatest crossover since Infinity War is coming to town! Here you can see all your favourite classic cartoon characters: Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Garfield, and more. If you don’t already know, WEBTOON is a website for digital comics that creators make for readers around the world; it is a showcase for art, storylines, and an opportunity for experience. Some creators are paid for their work, but anyone could submit a comic of their own. Artists can update daily, weekly, monthly, or even once every blue moon. I happened to stumble upon this webtoon during my search, and it definitely piqued my interest. Scoob and Shag features a world where aliens are the cartoons that we watch. The more these cartoons are watched, the more powerful they become. They get powers, called Ballyhoos, which can grant each individual a unique power such as time travel, teleportation, or controlling television static. Having too many Ballyhoos could cause a character to go a bit crazy, hear voices, or talk directly to the audience— and such is the case with Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny. Other times, an increase of negative Ballyhoos could turn the characters into rampaging monsters. These realities, combined with the threat of war, proves to make life quite dangerous for Shaggy and Scooby—and on top of it, they both lost their memories. As this webtoon is labelled under horror, I was initially confused. There was no aspect of horror in anything that I read in many chapters of comic. Most of what I saw was comedic shorts that just made me laugh. Continuing on however, the silly and weird six to ten panel shorts became a well thought out storyline with twists In great contrast, the cutest little characters were Kodamas: forest spirits which dwell in the trees. The art and the characters are beautifully done—as all Ghibli movies are—and in Princess Mononoke | especially enjoyed the dialogue as well. When villager monk Jigo was partnered with Ashitaka in finding the cure for the damned arm said: “So you say youre under a curse? So what? So is the whole damn world.” The same villager is later revealed to be an opportunist hunting down the forest and turns. It was no mistake that it had some horror built in, but it kept the comedic tone it had in the beginning. (I must say though, it was quite disconcerting to go from Scooby Doo puking out mayonnaise, to watching Goofy and Fred Flintstone become the monsters we get nightmares about.) At any rate, I was kept genuinely interested and wanting to read more. The art style was unique and had clearly shown effort, mostly in the storyline— not the shorts. Each character was drawn precisely, making it simple to tell them apart. Their personalities don’t always match those in their respective cartoons, but in a comic such as this, the variation is understandable. Would I recommend this webtoon? Definitely! I have already recommended this to some friends and family and would absolutely recommend it to you! As this Webtoon is horror, it covers some topics that not everyone would be comfortable reading. Still from ‘Princess Mononoke' Gods. As Jigo and his comrades follow Eboshi—who is also hunting the Forest Spirit—Jigo tells his one of his companions, “When youre going to kill a God, let someone else do your dirty work.” I couldn't agree more. Yet my favourite aspect of Ghibli movies—the mystical atmosphere— is lacking. Overall though, Princess Mononoke is a fantastically written story of war, love, adventure, and fighting for what you believe is right. Illustration by Athena Little It does include things like drugs, weed, severed limbs, blood, and death. These topics aside, the webtoon is a fun read, and well worth the time. I would suggest trying it out! issue 22// vol 46 CBC sweeps Candy nominations >» 2020 Canadian Screen Awards nominations includes local actor Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist anadian content is being seen around the world—even internationally famous people are fans of our country’s media! Brad Pitt is a fan of Letterkenny, and— surprisingly—Nicole Kidman is a fan of Schitt's Creek. Last year was a monumental year for Canadian content. Some of the biggest shows in our country got a lot of attention worldwide and were recognized at several award shows. Kim’s Convenience got Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year at the Seoul Drama Awards, and Schitt’s Creek became the first Canadian show to get nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards. Both shows air on CBC and are recognized by the Canadian Screen Awards this year. Unlike past years, when most nominated films were from Québec, most of the films nominated this year are in English. I know some of them because they were shown last year both at the Vancouver International Film Festival and in theatres. The films that are nominated for Best Motion Picture this year are Anne at 13,000 Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist n the beginning of the previous decade, AKB48 was one of the biggest groups in Japan—setting the standard for female groups in the country. As the decade progressed, rival group Nogizaka46 (also produced by AKB48’s producer, Yasushi Akimoto) was starting to get a lot of attention. By the end of the decade they were mainstream, made high quality music, set a whole new standard for female groups, and produced one of the most famous celebrities in Japan right now and possibly the greatest female idol of all time: Mai Shiraishi. The beginning of this year is surprising and unexpected—huge setbacks have been presented for the 46 group. AKB48 is also possibly making a big comeback since it has new members. This continues the rivalry between the two groups. Both groups are releasing singles this month; AKB48 is releasing “Thank You Heartbreak” on March 18 and the week after, on March 25, Nogizaka46 will release “Protective Colour of Happiness.” Coincidentally, the music videos for both songs were released at the same time. Both offer a lot of nostalgia and look like musicals. It is unknown and hard to determine which single will sell the most copies. ft., Antigone, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, The Twentieth Century, and White Lie. Matthew Rankin’s first film, The Twentieth Century, got the most film nominations at eight nominations. The movie is a bilingual and mind-blowing historical comedy film on how William Lyon Mackenzie King became the Prime Minister. Antigone is about a girl helping her brother in a prison break and challenging the system. Local BC film, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, is co-directed by Kathleen Hepburn and Elle-Maija Tailfeathers. It got six nominations, which includes Best Actress twice for its two lead stars—Tailfeathers and Violet Nelson. In TV, CBC got the most nominations out of the major channels in the country and swept almost every category. In comedy, Schitt’s Creek got the most nominations. The show also achieved most nominations overall with a record breaking 26 nominations. Kim’s Convenience is nominated again with eight nominations—including nominations for almost all its major stars! This list includes Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jean Yoon, Andrew Phung, and Nicole Power. Show star and Burnaby local Andrea Bang got a few nominations for web shows, and additionally went home with the Audience Choice Award. In drama, Anne with an E got the most nominations with 17 nominations. I am not sure if it will be back next season. Cardinal is finally nominated as a drama instead of a miniseries. It obtained 14 nominations, and it will be ending this season. Mary Kills People, which ended last season, got eleven nominations. In variety, The Beaverton got the most nominations with five nominations. However, it is very likely J-POP SPOTLIGHT The J-Pop rivalry continues >» Both AKB48 and Nogizaka46 release competing music videos Review of AKB48: “Thank You Heartbreak” The group's next hit single might be paying homage to the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. It has Mizuki Yamauchi as the lead member—who potentially could be the next face of the group. It is also the last single for the only remaining original member and my favourite member in the group, Minami Minegishi, who will be leaving the group next month. The music video begins with nN e r 2 L > ‘ Still of music video for 'Thank You Heartbreak' by AKB48 ‘of H the members waking up and we see them in their rooms, going back and forth between them with choppy French New Wave style editing. It gets more unusual when they go through a corridor with psychedelic colours and stairs that go outside of the black bars. In the dance scenes, the members are ina bedroom that is bigger than life. The choreography enhances the song; it is potentially inspired by 1960s dance moves, and I would jam to it. The song a) ~e appiness' by Nogizaka46 he Rw AA CO that The Baroness von Sketch Show will get Best Variety Show again this year... and ] still have not watched it. In news, The National got six nominations, CTV News at u got four nominations, and Global National got two nominations. In local news, News Hour got two nominations including Best Local Newscast and Best Local Reporter for Rumina Daya. A lot of exciting things will happen in the Canadian Screen Awards this year and hopefully they will give more awards in the main show than last year. The Canadian Screen Awards airs March 2g at 8 pm on CBC. Promotional image for 'Schitt's Creek' is on par with the group’s 2016 single “Wings Aren't Needed” which sounds like a1g70s working class protest song. This song sounds more like a hit 1960s song though. I like this style of music—it is highly enjoyable. Review of Nogizaka46: “Protective Colour of Happiness” This song has got the 1970s feel to contrast AKB48’s 1960s feel. Nogizaka46’s 25th single is also the group’s 20oth song overall and Mai Shiraishi’s last single with the group as she will be leaving the group. This is why the music video of the song has been viewed 2.5 million times on YouTube. Similar to the AKB48 music video, the scene is reminiscent of La La Land. We see Shiraishi waking up, going through elaborate sets, and meeting members from every generation of the band in multiple continuous shots. She looks like a mom in it—especially during the scene when she sees two of the fourth gen members. The song sounds like an ABBA piece, and even the clothes that the members wear near the end of the music video resemble the iconic disco group’s fashion. The choreography shows the members together, united by disco moves. They are giving a big send off to Shiraishi as she begins life outside of the group.