Media Reviews July 2019
Jul. 28th, 2019 08:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alias_sqbrThe Hating Game (romance novel), On a Sunbeam (webcomic), Tuca and Bertie (US Animation), Ensemble Stars (anime)
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Books:
The Hating Game: A fun m/f contemporary office romance novel, classic enemies to lovers arc and enjoyably done, but very conventionally chick-lit-ish. I was surprised at the complete lack of any mention of POC (unless I missed it) until I realised the writer was an Australian lol.
Comics:
On a Sunbeam: dreamy scifi comic, about a found family of queer young women and one non binary character, on a spaceship, restoring ruins both literal and metaphorical. The worldbuilding cheerfully avoids any attempt to make sense science-wise but works as fantasy with space themes. At first I thought it was set in a world that's literally all (cis?) women and the odd afab non-binary person, which made me uncomfortable(*), but I think it's just that no men happen to show up or be mentioned. Anyway, I liked it a moderate amount.
(*)That kind of society could be interesting to explore, but it leans too close to TERFy political lesbian utopianism to be unacknowledged background detail.
Animated TV:
Tuca and Bertie: Netflix adult animated sitcom about two female friends who are also talking birds. Seems good for what it is but was a bit Relatable Experiences For Twenty-Something American Straight Women and I am none of those things, also this kind of anthro stuff tends not to work for me because I overthink the worldbuilding.
Ensemble Stars: Reverse harem anime based on a phone-based dating sim, about The Only Girl at Idol Highschool. Very light and fluffy, I was kind of enjoying how sweet the boys were then some dumbass plot started about the Evil School Council Fixing The Band Contest and ehhh.
--
Books:
The Hating Game: A fun m/f contemporary office romance novel, classic enemies to lovers arc and enjoyably done, but very conventionally chick-lit-ish. I was surprised at the complete lack of any mention of POC (unless I missed it) until I realised the writer was an Australian lol.
Comics:
On a Sunbeam: dreamy scifi comic, about a found family of queer young women and one non binary character, on a spaceship, restoring ruins both literal and metaphorical. The worldbuilding cheerfully avoids any attempt to make sense science-wise but works as fantasy with space themes. At first I thought it was set in a world that's literally all (cis?) women and the odd afab non-binary person, which made me uncomfortable(*), but I think it's just that no men happen to show up or be mentioned. Anyway, I liked it a moderate amount.
(*)That kind of society could be interesting to explore, but it leans too close to TERFy political lesbian utopianism to be unacknowledged background detail.
Animated TV:
Tuca and Bertie: Netflix adult animated sitcom about two female friends who are also talking birds. Seems good for what it is but was a bit Relatable Experiences For Twenty-Something American Straight Women and I am none of those things, also this kind of anthro stuff tends not to work for me because I overthink the worldbuilding.
Ensemble Stars: Reverse harem anime based on a phone-based dating sim, about The Only Girl at Idol Highschool. Very light and fluffy, I was kind of enjoying how sweet the boys were then some dumbass plot started about the Evil School Council Fixing The Band Contest and ehhh.
