Bunny's Best 01 - Escape
A little bit of escapism never hurt anybody. My list of some great shows, films, etcetra that I think were worth my time, and hopefully yours too.
Hey folks. It’s been a minute since we've done one of these. I just yap about media that makes me happy, and why. Then you can decide to look at me like a crazy person or give said things a go? Yeah.
I think now more than ever sometimes we’re going to need to appreciate escapism in the moments when we can afford it. And if we are to, it should generally in my mind, be spent in places deserving of your time.
So without further ado… My expert recomendations.
Shōgun
I knew this show was peak since episode one. But if you needed more proof. It’s won Emmy awards in 18 categories. The most for any single season of television ever.
This show takes the white saviour storyline we’re so familiar and flips it on its head. John Blackthorne (played by the amazing Cosmo Jarvis) is a glorious bastard. An English sailor shipwrecked and stranded in Japan at the whims of a culture that polarises him, and works by none of the rules he and his crew have come to live by. To make matters more fun, barely anyone speaks English. Obviously. That is of course except for Toda Mariko (played by Anna Sawai), the translator to Lord Toranaga (played by Hiroyuki Sanada). The bond between these characters really make the show what it is, with a supporting cast that is equally as phenomenal.
Shōgun, while advertised in the marketing as some action-riddled war show, is actually a lot more sedated. In common with another favourite of mine, Vinland Saga, much of the show is people talking and not fighting. But the character writing, and the relationships between them is so powerful and nuanced, I couldn't care less. When the action DOES strike. It really strikes, abrupt, brutal and never without consequence.
Shōgun to me at the end of the day, is really a show about empathy, and nurture over nature. Which I think we need an abundance of moving into the future.
Please don't disregard this show because it’s subtitled. If you’re on this niche newsletter. Congratulations. You can read. I believe in you!
Blue Eye Samurai
This show is Kill Bill meets Mama Mia meets Shōgun. Half-white, Half-Japanese onna-musha (female warrior) Mizu is on a vengeance quest to find the four white men in Japan. One of which is her dad. Which one is anyone’s guess! But she’s going to kill them all.
Blue Eye Samurai is a master-class in animation, first and foremost. Every frame is genuinely a painting, and a fantastic one at that. The episodes feel tight, but well-paced. Nothing feels like superfluous fluff by the time you finish season one.
The voice actors all really embody their roles perfectly. Nobody feels like they’re phoning it in at any point. No character feels without nuance or makes decisions that feel inauthentic. Mizu isn't overly virtuous or heroic. She’s flawed. And so is everybody in BES.
If it wasn't already apparent. This show is adult, there is violence, there is occasional nudity and sex. But it never feels gratuitous or exhausting about its R-ratedness in a way a lot of “adult” media can tend to.
Season two is in 2026. So be better than me and digest the show at a slower rate so you can appreciate its awesomeness for as long as possible until the next one. (but I doubt you will once you’ve seen episode one.)
Transformers One
Look. I wasn't a Transformers kid. I watched some of Prime, and the first couple of Bay movies when they were released. (Queue the Linkin Park) but my domain as a kid was Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers.
While this is a kids movie, it’s one with genuine substance. Which always makes me happy. Kids shouldn't be talked down to, and this film really doesn’t do that. A huge element of this film is examining the different arguments against ‘the charismatic leader’ of a population.
The type that is… More than meets the eye.
More specifically, how our protagonists, Orion Pax, played by Chris Hemsworth, and D-16 played by Brian Tyree Henry handle these revelations respectively. Do we try to be better than the corrupt, or give them a taste of their own medicine? (sounding close to home at the moment?) All this is examined in a kids movie where Keegan-Michael Key is busting admittedly cringy jokes. And it all flows surprisingly naturally.
I didn’t know how emotionally impactful a movie about the origins of Megatron and Optimus Prime as ex-boyfriends close friends could be. But it really hits hard.
Midst
I like my D&D and TTRPG-adjacent media covered in fantasy. I really have no affinity to play around in a sci-fi based setting as a player in spite of my prolonged interest in the long sinking ship that is the Star Wars franchise, and enjoying the second Dune movie. Which shocks me to say I’ve become deeply invested in Midst, a narrative drama sci-fi western podcast by Third Person.
The three narrators, Xen, Matt Roen, and Sara Wile tell the story of Midst to you in an equivalent way to being retold a story at a family function and everyone is adding details, remembering things differently, and poking each other when they disagree with XYZ.
Imagine that. But it’s also a really compelling semi-improvised space-western with phenomenal sound design, a unique setting, and fleshed out characters that engages with political chess in a really interesting nuanced way. I promise you’ll like it.
The titular show, Midst is 3 seasons with digestible short episodes, and freely available on Youtube with some fantastic companion animation work, or how I listened to it, audio-only on Spotify.
There are also two self-contained follow-ups, Moonward, and Unend. The latter of which is actively releasing as we speak. So it’s a great time to get on the Midst train.
Final recommendations
The Penguin - Still airing for one more episode so I’ll reserve my thoughts for another newsletter eventually. But needless to say it fits into Matt Reeves’ The Batman world flawlessly. Everyone in the show is great. Feels like a real return for prestige tv that you don’t often see at this level.
RTG Podcast - Plugging my own thing here. Because it’s good. All of the audio recorded versions are out now right here on this Substack, Spotify, and Youtube. Interviews with great freelance designers and creatives from around the globe.
PUNCH PUNCH FOREVER! - Dragon Ball but made by Speedoru of Newgrounds acclaim. Deeply commited to the bit of appearing like an old anime OVA VHS that you stubbled upon in a video store. Remember those? It’s f*cking awesome.
Film Fvckers - A great zine on, you guessed it, film that little old me is playing a small part in for issue 02 ran by the great Brandon Lim. I love all the work he does with The Revue cinema in Toronto. So I jumped at the chance to lend a hand.
Terror Twos - A charity collaboration in the poster community ran by Si Heard. 31 artists. 31 Days. 31 posters. Peep your eyeballs to my socials on the FINAL DAY OF 2024 for my work. (That I need to stop procrastinating on and make.)
Bye! <3
I've wanted to watch Shogun for a while now, and your recommendation is just what I needed to move it from to-be-watched list onto my actual screen. Love the list!