Maquia - When The Promised Flower Blooms (朝花夕誓——于离别之朝束起约定之花)

Don't be fool by the cover page above, its not another story or films that is about some teenager love story, but instead a mother and son.

I come across this animation films by totally accident, saw a short video about it on my YouTube recommendation section, got curious and look for it.

To my surprise is, this is a very good film with very fine animation details too. But however it receive little attention, their box office grossing is only less than 5 millions. Oh did i mention, this film received 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Im just going to give a very very brief plot at the starts, so that you can know what will happen while not spoiled if you decided to watch it: 

Maquia's race is called Iorph, and being dubbed as "the Clan of the Separated". They age very slowly compare to human and their looks stay young even for hundreds of years. Then 1 night soldiers of Mezarte riding their ancient flying wyverns called Renato and invade their village. Killing most of them and kidnapped Maquia's best friend Leilia, while Maquia due to one of the wyvern went berserk and left the village with Maquia on it then succumbs to the "red eye" sickness and die in a forest, after Maquia wakes up she found herself in an abandon camp that were just attacked by bandits, an infant was in a deceased mother arm, and Maquia adopted the infant named him Ariel and live in a nearby village. (in this time Maquia actual age is only 15 by humans years)

Ok im going stop with the plot here, while in between tons of things happen, like a war broke out and Ariel grow up realize that his mother is more or less immortal. 

and the ending you can guess, an immortal with a human child, how would that end? its bitter sweet  thou, but more like 99 % bitter.

So after watching this, reminded myself a question i used to ask myself a lot, what if im immortal or can live few thousands years? 

For me immortality is a cursed, not a gift. the only reason i want to be immortal is i wanted to see how far human can go, currently this generation is too late to see technology blooms, and too early for space travel.

While being immortal and just to see your loved one leave one by one and yet you stayed. 

Everyone is afraid of death, so do I, but im much more afraid being left alone.  

Weathering With You 天気の子(Tenki no Ko) - MakotoShinkai

During these lockdown time I have taken my time to re-watch 君の名は Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) and wanted to write something about Makoto Shinkai latest works - 天気の子 Weathering With You (Tenki No Ko) which watched last year. Im no critics or rotten tomatoes sort, I just simply want to write down what i think of these films plus if you are reading this i am assumed that you have watch them both and know the plot. If somehow you have not watch them both, please spoilers alert, although not going to discuss a lot of plot details, but still.. spoiler alert.

君の名は Your Name is the number one grossing animation film in the world which it came out on 2016, best works of Makoto Shinkai and Your Name has brought a lot of attention to him, and when his new film comes out - Weathering with You a lot of people is comparing his latest works with Your Name, like he has created a best film how can he topped it off. while some people is actually disappointed that din't meet the level of Your Name, but for me i think its kind of unfair, both are definitely great films, its just like comparing your who is your favorite child, of course you might have one, but you definitely love them both.

Stories climax on Weathering With You is indeed slower than Your Name, where it happen almost at the end of the film where Hina(female protagonist) disappear and Hodaka(male protagonist) is looking for her through the shrine on top the building. Your Name climax point on other hand is at the middle of the film. Perhaps this is why some people dislike it because it has a slower development compare to Your Name. While it has the slower pace but for me, to see the Hodaka's character development that trying to find his place or himself in an unfamiliar city while develop his relationship with Hina and others is indeed a good sight to see. But overall, comparing to Your Name, Weathering with you have a much straight forward storyline, unlike Your Name where it has tons of "cipher" moment where you have to think why it happens, like the explanation of "誰そ彼" (Tasokare) the twilight time where you might see something you usually don't or the "結び" where it describe as how time is entangle, twisted all together. While Weathering with You has the very similar theme set, like shrine, god, blessing of god. Although it has a plainer story line but the character development is really great, especially it heavily indicate how much you can fight for love, like how Hodaka do all the things necessary to bring back Hina, of course Your Name has all these element as well, but its not as heavily shows than in Weathering with You, you would definitely know what i am talking about especially at the ending of the film. 

To sacrifice one to save millions, but what if the sacrifice is your loved one? Just like how Hodaka statement he made to Hina while they falling from the sky "Who cares if we don't see the sunshine again? i want you more than any blue sky, the weather can stay crazy" simply saying fuck the rest of the world, i only want you. See how a 16 years old is so much braver than a lot of adults when fight for their love, i know its  fiction but still...

Visual

Don't doubt it, its Makoto Shinkai's works, the visual is STUNNING just like his previous works. He really likes to animate rain, like in most his previous works sure that is a rain screen like, The Garden of Words, Your Name etc, and of course Weathering with You whole plot is about rain. All these details from rain drops, bubbles, the reflection of the puddle, food details, ray of lights, fireworks, and more have been animated to best details as possible, sharp and almost perfectly real. 

Music

Again, all of the music including the 5 vocal songs is all composed by Radwimps like previously in Your Name, but this time they are featuring a lady singer Toko Miura, singing 2 of the 5 vocal song. 

For me personally, songs for Weathering with You has more feel and fuse better with the movie with the lyrics almost like an explanation to the movie itself, but don't get me wrong, i really really like the songs in Your Name. 

Like the song "We'll be alright" playing in the end for their reunion, the lyrics the melody, fit right in, or at where they are falling from the sky and "Grand Escape" is playing, my god it gave me chills.

For the ending song Radwimps composed this after reading the scripts and present Makoto Shinkai this song "is that anything that love can do", in Weathering with You, this will be my favorite song, but in both of the films, my favorite still is "Nandemonaiya" ending song from Your Name.

I read a comment previously which fitly describe both Your Name and Weathering with you.

He said

"Your Name is finding love in fate

And Weathering with You is fighting fate for love"

While this post only saying these 2 films, but i do recommend you watch his other works, the very first Makoto Shinkai's works i watch was "The place promised in our early days" and second will be "5 centimetre per second", and for "5 centimetre per second" if you have a soft heart dont watch it, it just have too much heart piercing moment and ending. its a definitely an awesomely good film but i hate it, because its too real and sad. From all his works exclude the Your Name and Weathering with You, the one i like the most will be "星を追う子ども" literal translation will be the "children who chase stars" but in English films title has changed to "Children Who Chase Lost Voices" not sure why they did that, well if you have time you definitely should check this films, it interpret death, and good music especially the ending song "Hello goodbye and Hello" might make you shed tears. Good storyline. But for this into details maybe another time

PS:

I did not proof read or re-read the whole post, so any mistake please forgive me

Ended

Finally MCO is consider ended, but still tons of restriction,

Tomorrow finally going back to work.

What have i learned during all these free times? nothing much

Since works still coming remotely, plus when working from home,

Make peoples have no regards of time and day, hence they look for you anytime anyday.

But still at least at home some of the time did help for me to finished up my assignment as well as exam.

Talk about assignment, new sems is starting, even its part time still take a quite hard toll on me.

Also still a month of disciplined workout was the least i did.

Gym still cant open yet, hence cant play thai boxing for awhile.

Times flies really.

a month passed. and what did I accomplished

In this cauldron fashioned from delusion, with the sun as fire and day and night as kindling wood, the months and seasons as the ladle for stirring, Time cooks all beings: this is the simple truth.” — Mahabharata

I saw this quote from net, Mahabharata is an epics from ancient india.

It spoke a frightening truth, come to think of it, im getting old, another 3 years im going step into 30s,

It make me question how far i have gotten in my life, how far i have chased my dream,

How much effort did i make, or did i just slack the whole 27 years of my life.

Did i slacked? i guess no, did gave every effort then? guess no too .. 半々だけ

Grass

It's just myself talking to myself about myself,
Thomas Shelby - Peaky blinders

The quote from a drama i like,
Pretty much sums up what i wrote in here too,
if you know me don't bother asking why or what i wrote,
what i wrote here stays here.
Will talk when i feels like to.

Anyhow, shaved my hair few days ago never got to post on social media
Guess i will post here.
mehh, because it doesn't looks any different anyway,
Because i dint cut the middle parts where the "Grass" is growing,
not cutting it because i dint want it become unsalvageable
At least the middle part i can just wax it up or tie it up so it doesnt looks messy.
but the side and back how about, looks shit. so i shaved it,
it wasnt as crooked as i thought it would, turns out looks pretty good too.

Disciplined

I don't remember how days is has passed since the lock downs
Days 35? 36 ?
Din't keep track.
I miss the gym, the training, the sparing.
But in these lock down time i did not do any cardio exercise,
My stamina sure hell drop to rock bottom when this end.
But one thing surprise myself was I somehow disciplined myself,
to do two hundreds plus reps on conditioning/exercise everyday,
its not cardio and its not much by compare doing it at the gym
While back at gym we usually do a thousand times.
But I has been doing continuously for 2 weeks or more,
My lazy ass dint stop somehow.
Hope I could even do it after the MCO end,
The shape is coming out, it looks pretty dope

Vesemir

“I can't cry, I don't know how"
This phrase was from a favorite video game I played; Witcher 3
A mutant that has been strip from emotions, named Geralt.

Time to time I thought that phrase perfectly describe what I was,
There were so many things happened lately and not single tear was shed.
At these bad time for me, I just submerge myself in everything i could find,
I purposely made myself very busy, get myself a part time study in degree
Got my boss to give me extra projects.
Finding sustenance in the Muay Thai Class.
But the training is my solace, it made me forgets.
Not once let my bad side of my emotion shows, laugh as much as normally should
Until this MCO got me,
Where it made me have so much free times for my mind to tangle in memories and problems
Thus, make me having bad insomnia lately, my brain just keep thinking
I'm tired, its not my body, its my mind
Constrained my emotion too much it tires me out
Feels like collapsing any minutes when times goes by.
"I can't cry, I don't know how"
My heart is tattered, yet even lying on bed cant sleep the tears just wouldn't come out

Then few hours ago
just chatting to a friend that knows my agony, probably the only knows the full stories,
just due some circumstances this friend happened know.
Suddenly all these emotion just fucking gush out,
Crying unstoppable in front of the bright lid screen in my dark room.
Without warning.
Just for few minutes though, actually I was surprise, i dint know I still have this in myself.
I thought i was numbed enough that i doesn't feels anymore.
On first thought i was like, not manly enough because i cried
Then on second thought, fuck it I am Human too

The very last time I cried was when my dad passed away, 9 years ago.
Probably that time I have cried more than enough for a whole decade.
Seriously not joking i cried like hours straight, then repeating every few days, i was 18.

But to say,
My breakup is not the main reason for this emotion roller coaster, although it's a part of it,
But it was all the small and big disaster that accumulated through these few months.
It was tough for me at least. But for the first time in weeks, i think i can have good sleep tonight.

Neglect

It has been 7 months.
Since our broke up.
Strange, because I have never tell a single soul about how I felt in the past 7 months
I am not the talking nor sharing type
Yet here I am writing this.


People ask why, how does it end?
Is it people? Is it personality? Is it she having someone else?
But does it matter?
What matter is that it has ended.

Up to this point I guess we both don't know why we split up.
Actual reason, guess we both are not sure.
No one is perfect, but
To have each other is to find perfection in each other,
We are definitely not perfect, nor perfect for each other.
Hence she seeks it elsewhere where I just stay neglect.

To this point i wasn't sad, its just feel pity that 3 years down the road
Looks like I wasn't giving my all.
Still, looks like she has someone she likes now.
Chat with her earlier few days ago, hopefully we both get the relieve that we want
It was surprisingly cheerful, yet feels lonely.
It would probably be the last time.
Now, I just hope that she finds the perfection she seek.



愿你获得幸福，曾经爱过我的人