From FanExpo to WonderCon: A Retrospective of Promoting ‘Dasig’ in the Convention Circuit

April 9, 2024April 8, 2024 Lauren Lola

I recently came back from my first time at WonderCon. Surrounded by the stimuli of elaborate cosplayers, autograph opportunities, panels, and exhibitors, it’s a sight that’s become particularly familiar for me in recent months. You see, it was my third convention I was present for in the past four months; the others being LA Comic Con and FanExpo San Francisco. I’ve been present at these conventions not as an attendee, but as an exhibitor.

Animation, Star Wars, StreamingLeave a comment

Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee Take Center Stage in ‘Tales of the Empire’ Trailer

April 4, 2024April 6, 2024 Lauren Lola

In 2022, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi was released, exploring untold stories via short films of characters, Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku. The Dave Filoni-helmed animated anthology series was a hit among fans, leading to the announcement at last year’s Star Wars Celebration that a second season would follow.

Sci Fi, Streaming2 Comments

Official ‘Doctor Who’ Trailer Teases Adrenaline-Inducing, Timey-Wimey Season

March 22, 2024March 24, 2024 Lauren Lola

It was revealed earlier this month that the return of the longest running British sci-fi series, Doctor Who, will be coming this May. While snippets have been released here and there since the Christmas special of what’s to come of this upcoming season, it’s the official trailer dropped today that really goes in on what to expect in full force.

Animation, Fandom, Music

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ In Concert Arrives at a Cultural Moment for the Franchise

February 26, 2024February 27, 2024 Lauren Lola

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in San Francisco, a few blocks away from where the Lunar New Year Parade would later be held. It’s two days after the release of the cautiously anticipated Netflix live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and three days since the beloved Nickelodeon animated series turned 19.

Interview, Movies, Music

Stan Walker on Creating the Song “I Am” for Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’

February 26, 2024February 26, 2024 Lauren Lola

Stan Walker is a singer from New Zealand. Rising to prominence through Australian Idol, he has since gone on to release seven albums; the most recent one in 2022, All In. In 2023, he was summoned by director Ava DuVernay, who, after being shown a video of him doing a cover of Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam” by her producing partner, asked Walker to do the song for her latest film, Origin; which tells the story of how journalist Isabel Wilkerson researched the caste systems in the histories of the United States, Germany, and India, for her 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

Animation, Interview, Star Wars1 Comment

Michelle Ang and ‘The Bad Batch’ Executive Producers Discuss Conclusion of the Series

February 16, 2024February 16, 2024 Lauren Lola

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is about to return for its third and final season. In a time of so much uncertainty for the galaxy, things are already posing to be even more so with Omega taken captive to Mount Tantiss (where former Clone Force 99 member, Crosshair, is also held). The remaining members of the Bad Batch now must do whatever they can to get her back, and sadly, following the previous season’s finale, they’ll have to do that — and other missions going forward — without Tech.

Animation, Movies, Reviews2 Comments

Despite Potential, ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ is a Rushed Effort

February 2, 2024February 1, 2024 Lauren Lola

The new Paramount+ animated film, The Tiger’s Apprentice, is arriving just in time for the Lunar New Year (yet two years past the Year of the Tiger). Based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Laurence Yep, it follows 15-year-old Tom Lee who, in the aftermath of his grandmother’s death, becomes the apprentice to the tiger zodiac, Hu, and rise to the occasion of becoming the guardian of an ancient phoenix.

Animation, Star Wars1 Comment

‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Gets Ready to Return for One Last Fight

January 22, 2024January 23, 2024 Lauren Lola

Much like in the way of previous Star Wars animated series like The Clone Wars and Rebels, The Bad Batch is setting up its third and final season to be its most darkest, high stakes season yet.

Reviews, Sci Fi, Streaming

‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special Summons a New Era of Empathy

December 22, 2023December 23, 2023 Lauren Lola

After the umpteenth appearance of David Tennant as the Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa has, at last, taken the wheel. In the final 20 minutes of the third Doctor Who 60^th anniversary special, The Giggle, the first Black and queer actor to take on the mantle makes his debut in the most unexpected of ways, and quickly establishes himself as a Doctor who has such a light to him, and also brings a lot of empathy for others.

Anime, Movies, Reviews1 Comment

Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Challenges the Ghibli Generation on How to Live

December 11, 2023December 23, 2023 Lauren Lola

In Genzaburō Yoshino’s 1937 novel, How Do You Live?, there is a quote that’s striking in what often comes to mind when thinking of the vastness of the universe, in comparison to our humble existences: “On a night like this, to think about the distant celestial world was to feel that one was disappearing into the atmosphere.”

Fandom, Streaming1 Comment

Nerd Poppin’ Throughout the SAG-AFTRA Strike

November 14, 2023November 14, 2023 Lauren Lola

As of Thursday November 9, the SAG-AFTRA strike came to an end following an approval of a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. Having lasted a whopping 118 days, it is the longest actors strike against the film and TV studios in Hollywood history.

Anime, Movies, Trailers

‘The Boy and the Heron’ English Dub Given First Look in New Trailer

November 2, 2023November 2, 2023 Lauren Lola

Say what you will about English dubs, but they are, in fact, a thing. With Hayao Miyazaki’s newest film, The Boy and the Heron, soon to be available internationally and outside the film festival circuit, audiences were teased the performances of the English language cast in a new trailer that came out earlier today.

Movies, News, Television1 Comment

From the Outside Looking In: On Navigating Hollywood’s Double Strikes

September 26, 2023September 27, 2023 Lauren Lola

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. While it now needs to go to a ratification vote, the 148-day long WGA strike — the second longest in the union’s history — has come to an end.

Anime, Movies, Trailers

An Alluring Story is Glimpsed in ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Teaser Trailer

September 6, 2023December 23, 2023 Lauren Lola

On July 14, Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, The Boy and the Heron (or, as it’s called in Japan, How Do You Live?), was released to Japanese cinemas with no marketing for it whatsoever, aside from this poster:

Anime, Movies1 Comment

‘The Boy and the Heron’ is an Unnecessary Title Change for Hayao Miyazaki’s Final Film

July 21, 2023July 20, 2023 Lauren Lola

Last Friday, the highly anticipated final film from Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki (that is, unless, he decides to come out of retirement again for the umpteenth time), How Do You Live?, was at long last released in Japan. That same day, film distributor GKIDS announced that it had acquired the North American distribution rights for the film, and set it to come out later this year. The big kicker is that it will be released not as How Do You Live?, but under a different title, The Boy and the Heron.

Animation, Books, Interview1 Comment

F.C. Yee Talks Exploring a Deliberate Contrast in ‘The Legacy of Yangchen’

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 Lauren Lola

The Legacy of Yangchen is the latest book in the Chronicles of the Avatar series, and the last of the Yangchen duology. In the aftermath of the events of The Dawn of Yangchen, the airbending Avatar finds herself in the difficult position of having to de-escalate conflicts between heads of states of the Four Nations, in the midst of the threat of a powerful new weapon. To makes things even more difficult for her, she must turn to assistance from Kavik, whom she’s not on good terms, following an act of betrayal by the latter from their previous adventure together.

Animation, Interview, Movies2 Comments

‘Nimona’ Cast and Crew Talk Bringing the Timely, Queer Positive Graphic Novel to Film

June 27, 2023 Lauren Lola

Nimona is on its way to being released on Netflix this week. Based off of ND Stevenson’s 2015 graphic novel of the same name, the film follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight framed for murder. With everyone in the kingdom having turned their backs on him — even his former flame, Ambrosius Goldenloin — Ballister does whatever he can to clear his name, with a little help from Nimona; a zany, unapologetic shapeshifter.

Animation, Movies

Chaos, Fun, and Adventure Unfolds in ‘Nimona’ Official Trailer

June 14, 2023June 15, 2023 Lauren Lola

It’s halfway through Pride Month, and the official trailer for Nimona is out. The highly anticipated adaptation of ND Stevenson’s queer-centered 2015 graphic novel of the same name gives a more in-depth look at what the audience can expect.

Animation, Movies2 Comments

Netflix Gives First Peek and Release Date for ‘Nimona’

May 19, 2023May 21, 2023 Lauren Lola

What do you get when you have a story set in a futuristic medieval world, centered on a character dynamic akin to Pedro Pascal and the Child(-ren) in his care these days? You get Nimona!

Animation, Star Wars

Reasons to Watch ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ in its Entirety

April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 Lauren Lola

Earlier this month at Star Wars Celebration Europe, fans were finally treated to the first good look at the upcoming limited series, Ahsoka, when the official trailer for it was released. Aside from seeing the former Jedi knight in action, several characters from the animated series, Star Wars: Rebels, are also set to have prominent roles in the story.

Anime, Reviews, Theatre

Audiences Will Be ‘Spirited Away’ in Stage Adaptation of Miyazaki Classic

April 25, 2023May 1, 2023 Lauren Lola

Spirited Away is undoubtedly one of — if not the most — well-known film from director Hayao Miyazaki. The Academy Award-winning fantasy-adventure of a young girl having to navigate the spirit world she’s trapped in is a story that has captivated and inspired audiences all over the world.

Anime, Movies, Reviews2 Comments

Makoto Shinkai Brings His Best in the Rollicking Adventure of ‘Suzume’

April 17, 2023September 14, 2023 Lauren Lola

Makoto Shinkai has been directing animated films for over two decades now, but it was his 2016 film, Your Name, that garnered critical acclaim both in Japan and abroad. While both Your Name and his 2019 film, Weathering with You, are notable for the creative development of their respective magic systems and intricate plots, they lack in substance of their female leads and development of the romantic tension between the male and female characters.

Movies, Reviews

Thoughts and Reactions to Watching ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ For the First Time

March 6, 2023March 6, 2023 Lauren Lola

We have arrived in the month of release for the next John Wick film. As our coverage on the latest installment really kicks into gear, I wanted to make sure I got in my thoughts about its 2019 predecessor well before then.