I've always been a fan of stories that take a focus on something important to the Japanese culture and history

this is a wip

Psychological horror is my bread and butter. As someone who had intense anxiety growing up, the standard horror movies with jumpscares just annoyed the living crap out of me because often times the 'jumpscares' didn't really scare me, the scene wasn't really scary, it was just a noise startling me unncessarily.

Personally, I think there is something more relatable and realistic in a horror movie that will have something bad happen, or have a bad ending, and you as the viewer know this, but there's nothing you can do. You sit with this impending dread, this looming feeling of doom, and all you can do is simply watch it unfold.

I think that, in a nutshell, perfectly encapsulates the feeling you get when watching Iron Lung.

I've never played the game for Iron Lung, but as a fan of this sort of slow burn 'impending doom' psychological horror, the slow burn of the first bit of this movie didn't bother me— however, this might bother some other people of course.

Iron Lung is a movie that sometimes requires you to pay attention, to cock your head at the tiny details, all before it bang its metaphorical hand on the table to get you focused back onto the main problem at hand: Simon, Markiplier's character, stuck in a machine at the bottom of a sea of blood.

The background of this movie is easy to follow: It focuses on Simon, played by our beloved Markiplier, who is sent into the depths of this sea of blood as penance for a crime of some sort. An incident called 'The Quiet Rapture' ended all the stars in space, and humans are on the brink of disappearing altogether, but those that remain use the time they have to try and find a way to save humanity. In a way, it feels almost like a strange mercy, because if he manages to find what humanity wants, not only will he be given his freedom as a criminal, but he'll also be lauded as a hero. It's kinder than it seems if you look at it that way, but this is only the case if the job given to the man named Simon was so straightforward.

It pays homage to the age old cautionary tale of 'something is never always as easy as people make it seems', or to read a contract in full before you sign on the dotted line. Mind you, the man in this situation wasn't given a choice, but being given such a hefty responsibility without being informed on ANYTHING feels so unfair to him when he makes mistakes and is punished for them when all Simon learns is on his own, for better AND worse.

One thing I really want to glaze as much as humanly possibly here is THE CINEMATOGRAPHY. Genuinely, truly, there are so many shots in this movie that were AMAZING strokes of brilliant in terms of symbolism, reflecting the situation/mood, etc. There were very smart usages of zoom in+blur background effects for the interior of the Iron Lung which I thought was very clever. There were so many subtle symbolism things featured in this work, and I think if you're someone who enjoys small details, that stuff was making you want to bounce in your seat. I almost was, anyway.

The special effects, as well, was really enjoyable. Combined with a clearly skilled staff, nothing looked cringey or cheap. There were a few scenes that really stood out to me for their unique special effects, with all the excessive amount of blood, the monstrous beings Simon has to contend with, and his inability to tell what is what.

I think some people may feel a little confused or frustrated towards the movie and its constantly changing direction, but at the same time, I feel it is an intentional choice to reflect Simon slowly losing himself and getting lost in the sea of blood he was tossed into. It is essentially up to the viewer to decide or 'figure out' how much of what happened to/with Simon was true or something he might've imagined or was caused by the Eldritch horror monster he's stuck with under the sea.

A lot of people think it's our duty as the viewers to understand a movie, but I don't think that's necessarily true. I don't think we always need to know the real 'sole truth' of a movie, and movies that end or navigate in a way that allows us to come to our own conclusions that aren't ever wholly explained or expanded on. If that's something deeply important to you, to have everything explained in detail, you won't like this. You actually have to make your own decisions on what is or isn't, and in today's society, I think a lot of people have trouble with that.

One gripe I do have that was shared with my own personal favorite youtuber, good ol MoistCritikal Charlie. (His video on the movie can be seen here!) During some more intense/impactful scenes, there were times where so many noises were happening at once that you couldn't properly hear what was being said by certain people. On one hand, I'm glad I wasn't the only one, but on the other, it was a bit sad because I didn't want to lose the focus I had on the very cool moment. I do agree with Charlie in the fact that, to some degree, the inability to parse noise and having it be so dicombobulating was perhaps an intended effect because of how Simon himself is losing his sanity. It was still a bit disappointing because I wanted to have the full context of certain interactions that were meant to be intense moments.

In terms of acting, I actually think Markiplier did a solid job. In a way, perhaps BECAUSE of the fact that I was someone who didn't watch Markiplier as a youtuber, I was able to focus on his ability as an actor. When it came to super intense scenes, I think he managed to get anger and arguing across pretty well. The movie started off a little rocky, but as the movie progressed, Markiplier seemed to really settle into the role of Simon. I WAS hoping for a little more from the emotional and weaker moments of Simon's character, like I was expecting for the dialogue to contain some shaky voice, maybe a sharp inhale or sniff, but I also haven't played Iron Lung (yet! I will after this review) to know just how much or how little the character may be willing to reflect his weakness and fear, even if it's solely from sound alone to someone.

IS it the most amazing acting in the world? Probably not, but we all start somewhere. I thought it was pretty good. I came to enjoy and empathize with the convict named Simon, who wanted to just live, who never got a choice, who always, near the end of various stages of his life, started to question what he was doing and if it would help him find purpose. I want to think that Markiplier perhaps felt similarly towards his exposure to the original Iron Lung.

This review is getting a bit long, so I'll end it here by saying that I hope Markiplier will continue to pursue creative ideas like this because it's clear he has a real passionate heart and an eye for such creative ideas.

I hope to ideally watch it again later on in the week to experience Iron Lung again!

(PS: Thank you for taking your shirt off in that one scene Mr Markiplier. I really appreciated that.)

All in all, if you like psychological horror, if you like an impending feeling of doom or dread, a small flicker of hope in the darkness that wants to wipe out the inherent human will to keep moving forward, clever cinematography and symbolism, this movie will be enjoyable for you. I really hope people will give it a chance. Also fuck IGN we all know your reviews are paid these days.

So, this is a BL that takes place at a hair salon. (Honestly, it's been a while since I read a manga focusing on beauty/hair salon esque things... It makes me a bit nostalgic and want to read Beauty Pop again.)

I'll be honest, I was a bit confused at first because two characters he banters with look very similar, but one of them is the true 'love interest' (???) and the other is like, sort of a narrative tool. So yeah, it took me a few chapters to learn how to tell Fukusuke and Kazunori apart.

This work does a good job of creating a red herring, thinking that perhaps Kazunori is going to be the problem because the two of them have a very tense relationship and can't see eye to eye-- but as the story progresses, you learn that Kazunori's attempts to do better are being sabotaged very subtly, and in turn, this affects Shoukichi because he's the stylist in charge of Kazunori at the time. It causes a lot of tension and stress, which is where Fukusuke, the 'love interest' in this scenario, will often swoop in and soothe Shoukichi.

Fukusuke is very pushy with Shoukichi to the point every sexual scenario between the two of them almost exclusively looks, at the very least, dubcon because Shoukichi is aggressively persuaded into it. I would argue even the intro scene to the manga could easily be translated as rape since it was essentially forced oral that ended up with Fukusuke getting bitten.

Fukusuke at work acts very princely, getting in between fights that Kazunori and Shoukichi have due to misconceptions he has intentionally caused, acts friendly with Kazunori and goes drinking with him, yet simultaneously whispers insistingly in Shoukichi's ear (literally) that he's being too soft, and he should drop Kazunori as an apprentice.

Shoukichi's overwhelming ability to forgive that comes off as borderline pushover, if not completely that, becomes a weapon turned against himself as Fukusuke slowly gets more impatient and becomes more threatened by the new people around Shoukichi that allow him to have a support system outside of Fukusuke. Abusers who intentionally isolate their partners absolutely hate that sort of thing, of course.

Riku fans the flames because he is aware of Fukusuke's true nature, and quite frankly, it's interesting to see the two interact while Fukusuke isn't wearing his facade. Riku is a bad bitch who mocks Fukusuke's actions, making fun of him, and saying he looks forward to the inevitable downfall of his shortcomings. He says he isn't interested in stepping into the situation, and for the most part, I would argue that's true. The only thing he does is imply some possible made up scenario to Shoukichi and allows Shoukichi to figure out the rest himself.

All of this eventually culminates with Fukusuke snapping, of course-- Shoukichi realizes what he's done, that Fukusuke has been monitoring him, stalking him, ruining opportunities for him, destroying relationships he had, etc etc.

Fukusuke's response to this is........ Well.

Par the course for a yandere, I suppose.

This is where that forced imprisonment and sexual torture warning comes in, as Fukusuke uses the time that they're off to essentially break Shoukichi in by binding him up with bdsm gear, attaching sex toys to him, and forcing him to deal with it until he gives in to Fukusuke's demand that Shoukichi announce that he's going to leave the salon with Fukusuke so they can run their own private salon together.

Shoukichi agrees in the end, but an unanticipated result that dampens Fukusuke's happiness is that he's broken Shoukichi to the point that Shoukichi is petrified of him and Fukusuke can't get hard no matter what he does now. I suppose there was some fine line between 'getting aroused by him crying' and 'Shoukichi being terrified of him.'

Yet, for some crazy reason, it's this result he caused himself that makes Fukusuke deteriorate. He starts feeling cripplingly guilty, because the Shoukichi that exists now, that's terrified of him and flinches at everything he says or does, isn't the Shoukichi he's obsessed with. I think it's a fascinating look into the perverse, ill-aligned mindset of an obsessive person who doesn't factor in any other elements and deals poorly with not getting what they want or things not going the way they perfectly envisioned it to.

This story takes a very strange hard left turn, where Fukusuke, of his own free will, separates himself from Shoukichi and isolates himself to wallow in his misery. Shoukichi is able to stand on his own with the help of his coworkers that are a good support system, but as time passes, he worries about Fukusuke. Fukusuke told all his regulars they could trust Shoukichi while he's away, but he never comes back. He doesn't answer any calls. Shoukichi becomes concerned and goes to Fukusuke's house, which he learns isn't even that far away, but he lied and said it was to always stay at Shoukichi's house.

He's a shell of himself, no longer putting up the act with Shoukichi. Nothing matters anymore because he lost what he was obsessing over. Nothing has ever truly mattered to him, and he could only ever care in extremes.

Because of Shoukichi's forgiving nature, while not outright forgiving Fukusuke, he convinces Fukusuke to come out of his house which results in Fukusuke later announcing he's going to run his own salon.

Riku didn't fall for any of it, as at the end of the day, so long as he's given a single drip of validation from Shoukichi, Fukusuke will persist. He just decided to start all over from the very beginning at a different angle, though the shortness of the story causes it all to end without feeling resolved and/or you get to decide for yourself what becomes of them.

It was certainly an interesting direction, and an exceptional work by the infamous Harada!

Even though the story got progressively worse, more uncomfortable, and foreboding, at the same time it keeps you reading because you don't know who's going to succeed in the end. It's not your typical short BL story, and perhaps not even your typical yandere BL story either. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This is undoubtedly far from everyone's cup of tea, and you shouldn't read it if you can't stomach strong depictions of dark content.

She's a girl who is a bit of a cliche and fascinated by love, thinks before acting, and wants to have the ideal first love. (Which is impossible, right? But any high schooler is going to think 'nah, this is the one forever.)

When checking the names of her classmates, she finds out there's a boy with the name Tajima Kyouhei, which happens to be the same name of the boy in kindergarten that stole her first kiss, because to her, that counted. Without considering that maybe it's just a coincidence since a lot of people can end up having the same names, not even including the fact that there are different variations of kanji usage in Japan, she rushes to find the guy she thinks is her first kiss: Tajima!

She certainly finds Tajima, and like a dummy, the first thing she says to him ever is asking if he's the same Tajima Kyouhei that stole her first kiss in kindergarten.

Shocker: he isn't, and she just embarrassed him in front of their entire class. Moreover, this Tajima Kyouhei (who I'm just gonna call Tajima from here on) is a lot different than the way Kuma remembers her Tajima being. To be quite honest, he just reads as intensely autistic because he always has resting bitch face, but if you interact with him he's a nice person who pays attention to details, has fun with his friends, and has a special interest in burgers. It's honestly cute.

Still though, despite the fact he's not the Tajima from her childhood, Kuma still finds herself pursuing him because of this coincidental association. She ends up just not caring he's not the Tajima from her childhood and genuinely likes him for him, even if he's always shooting her clever quips and often doesn't understand what she's saying or the true intent of her actions. Basically, the autism is strong so his ass is NOT picking up she sometimes does things with intention to try and make it an ideal romance scenario.

Quite frankly, his inability to understand her whole fascination with romance is something that becomes a moving part of the story when he asks her to teach her how to be more romantic, since he doesn't know what's so great about love or 'being romantic'.

Kuma does her best to make plans to have romantic situations with him, but often, some way or another things don't end up as she hopes-- and in her comedic wallowing, he finds a way to be romantic all in his own unique way and cheer her up. He doesn't really come to terms with the realization that he's in love with Kuma until the later half of the story, but even after they become a couple, their charming golden retreiver/deadpan cat dynamic doesn't change.

Anyway, it's during the later half of the story, fate must intervene! In a job that, ironically, Tajima helped Kuma get, Kuma's new coworker (nicknamed Kyon) is the real Tajima Kyouhei from her childhood! And just like she had always dreamed, he is everything she thought he'd be: nice, polite, princely, and a hopeless romantic just like her. Yet! She is conflicted and doesn't know what reaction is most appropriate because she has already gotten attached to the other Tajima.

Naturally, it causes a bit of tension. She's an honest girl, so she can't bring herself to hide this from Tajima, who tells her that it's good news and surely 'fate' she met the boy who took her first kiss... There's the obligatory awkward period as they attend a festival like, right after this all happening, but it's soon resolved when the two Tajima's meet face to face when Tajima had walked off to use the restroom, Kuma thought he left her because he was mad, and Kyon ran into her during that period. Tajima gets all cutely possessive and yanks her against him and he gets all protective guard dog towards Kyon even though Kyon is the polite prince type, so he's like uhhhh what is your problem.

It's cute, though. It causes Tajima to stick to Kuma more closely, try his best to act more like a partner, and getting more bold in his affection to Kuma's happiness and surprise.

I really liked Kyon as a character, he was really supportive to Kuma as a friend, and even though he didn't remember being her first kiss and didn't have any feelings for her initially, of course he does end up falling for her. He does the surprisingly bold thing of confronting Tajima, and saying that he plans to confess to Kuma-- to which Tajima says that he can do whatever he wants, because he believes in Kuma. It was really cute;;;;; He believes in her love for him.... Ughhh. Gah.

Kyon is turned down naturally and he knew that'd be the result, but he's a good sport about it and since you can't just cut off feelings cold turkey, he tells Tajima to tell Kyon whenever they break up so he can swoop in. (Tajima says never in this lifetime, which made Kuma super happy.)

I'm missing out a lot of details for the sake of not spoiling all of it for someone who might feel compelled to read it by seeing this, but it was a very enjoyable read. I was sad it was so short.... I could watch that autistic hamburger boy rizz on accident over and over forever.

Oh yeah, the kisses were also well drawn! They felt realistic and very passionate. I haven't read shoujo for a hot minute, and we all remember how they were in the shoujo of our time. Very static and whatnot. These kisses were soooo beautifully drawn.

Like, is that not gorgeous? God bless.

I would also love to give some special mention to this line/panel right here because Tajima seriously cooked when he said this line. Autism be damned MY BOY CAN BE ROMANTIC!!!!!!

Anyway, this was a lovely read. I will definitely be looking into more works by this author. I hope they have more works, because they definitely deserve to get some recognition for their work!

Tajikuma may you be a happy black cat/golden retreiver couple for the rest of your days [heart emoji]