Japanese Fever Dreams Are Never Made of These. NeverAwake to the Latest Update.

NeverAwake has a big update! Version 1.1 is coming tomorrow and fans will get more than a few nightmares to keep you awake.

neverawakeRelease Date: Jan 19, 2023
Avaiable for Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5

NeverAwake is a twin-stick shoot’em up that’s ready to banish nightmares! This game breaks away from the conventions of horizontal and vertical shooters, and truly makes use of the 3D space to make fighting a lot more fun. And here, you fight against creatures that only the fertile Japanese Shinto world can dream up!

Set in the mind of a young girl’s horrifying dreams, what’s experienced may well hit close to home with the themes and motifs being offered. That’s because some therapists theorize the brain is trying to make sense of those waking world’s life experiences. In this game, you are helping Rem fight her problems! This game originally released in September 2022, and it now has a huge, mesmerizing update!

This multiplatform release is from Japanese developer Neotro Inc and it is published by Phoenixx.

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Door Mouse. Is She Squeaky Clean in this Whodunit?

When this Door Mouse (Hayley Law) is a comic book illustrator whose second job is that of a burlesque performer, she better learn another occupation fast!

door mouseAvailable in select theatres and
digitally starting on January 13th

Elevation Pictures

Door Mouse has plenty of Quinten Tarantino and punk rock vibes in its story about Mouse (Hayley Law), a comic book illustrator whose only real paying job is that of a burlesque performer. But when her colleagues get kidnapped, she becomes a gumshoe with a mission–to protect her sisters from the hood. They either wind up dead or much worse. As a result, the cops dismiss the problem as not worth investigating. Instead of waiting to be a victim, she’d rather be a victor in this quirky indie film smartly written and well directed by Avan Jogia.

This movie’s greatest strength lies in how perfect the neo-noir atmosphere is realised. Not only is it coloured in pastel lights, but also we get an appropriate sound design to make the world feel grungy. Additionally, the illustrations are animated to recognize how this lead looks at the world. This approach works to explain why she’s drawing from her life experience to create her comic book. The grittiness that’s visualised makes me wonder if we’ll ever see a sampler as a booklet when the home video release is ready. The sketches I see makes me think this artist is inspired by Robert Crumb.

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Hot on the Trail of Bigfoot. Last Frontier Offers the Latest Theories on Wood

The latest documentary in the series, Small Town Wonders is The Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier. The people he talks to here in Alaska have some fascinating stories that any researcher will want to hear!

On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last FrontierRelease Date: Jan 17, 2023 on VOD
1091 Pictures

On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier is Seth Breedlove‘s latest documentary under the label of Small Town Wonders. Where he heads to now is Alaska, and the people he talks have some fascinating stories that any researcher will want to hear! They hail from various towns that are strewn throughout the State, but as for whether we should believe them or not depends on wanting to believe. By my estimate, they’re just everyday folks and they have no reason to lie.

This filmmaker loves delving into urban myth, and I believe he’s far more genuine than those speciality network series. His work demonstrates he’s not approaching the subject with him in front of the lens all the time. What he discovers has an air of authenticity, and unlike his look into the legend of the Jersey Devil (review) and Rougarou, this one sees him a lot more invested in the subject. Like his past works where he’s on the trail of the elusive giant, his focus is on the west coast. These can be found on Tubi, and they tend to focus on the Pacific Northwest, and in this latest, he’s travelling north!

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On Why Charlie Mackesy’s “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse” Tugs at the Heart

This animated short is adapted from Charlie Mackesy’s storybook of the same name. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse left me wondering how faithful the art is between the two.

Charlie Mackesy's The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse
The children’s book that this short is based on is available to purchase on Amazon USA

Available on Apple Plus

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse is a very deeply moving story that’s very multilayered. This animated short is adapted from Charlie Mackesy‘s storybook of the same name, and it left me wondering how faithful the art is between the two. I debated purchasing a copy at a bookstore just because I loved the tale. But hot after its Christmas release, both they and even the local libraries couldn’t keep it on the shelf long, and I waited my turn to take it out.

The movie has a quality that feels like a Victorian age children’s novel has come to life. In regards to what this author wanted to share as a message to viewers is very encouraging. There’s more to teaching readers the value of compassion, but also love. And the other life lessons that it imparts will certainly have many thinking. When it’s beautifully complemented with a piano soundtrack, the comtemplative feel good vibes will certainly last!

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Crowdfunding New Talents through Clover Press. Artists in Taiwan and Korea on Kickstarter!

The ‘Artists in’ series was produced to bring work by artists from different regions to a larger global audience.

Artists in TaiwanPixiv, Media Do International, Inc. and Clover Press are partnering together to bring two stunning artbooks, Artists in Taiwan and Artists in Korea, to Kickstarter. These deluxe books showcase over 150 amazing artists—representing just a small fraction of the talented artists actively engaged on pixiv. The Kickstarter page for ARTISTS IN TAIWAN and ARTISTS IN KOREA is live and looking for your support. 

Artists in Taiwan features 83 incredible artists in Taiwan, with a cover by VOFAN, an illustrator with an impressive mastery of the use of intense light and shadow. Artists in Korea features 78 fantastic artists in Korea, with a cover by Tiv, an illustrator well known for poetic and transparent expression and capturing emotional moments, especially of women. Between both volumes, the books collect the amazing work of Say HANa, I READING, LOIZA, B.c.N.y., modare, Anmi, zipcy, Gearous, DSmile, Canking, and many more.

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Upcoming Animated Series Worth Checking Out in 2023 (Part Two)

Animated Series Worth Checking Out in 2023 tops at Gremlins!In part two to extol my love for cartoons, I offer my top ten picks of animated series worth checking out in 2023. With some of them headed to streaming services rather than network, finding them might get difficult this year. As long as you’re subscribed to the key providers, you ought to be okay.

Disclaimer: Not every series is dated, but they’re expected to debut sometime this year. Listed in alphabetical order are:

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai 

This series is exciting because it takes place before the movies. Here, the focus will be on a young boy, Sam Wing, becoming fast friends with Gizmo. I get the sense it’ll take on some tones from Stitch and Ai, and I’m okay with it! As these two venture through the Chinese countryside, dealing with the various creatures from local folklore, I’m already giddy with delight in what can be offered. As for how the mischievous version came into folklore, perhaps this series will tell all.

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