The Wheel and Axle

* Not Spoiler-Free *

Last week, Netflix released its anime adaptation of the critically-acclaimed Filipino comics Trese (Budjette Tan / Kajo Baldisimo). It received much attention as the first Netflix adaptation of a Filipino property, and the road leading to the release was one of anticipation supported by a very creative, well-received PR campaign.

As a long-time Trese fan who has been following the comics for over a decade, I too was super stoked to finally see it come to the screen after 16 years since it was first published. Although a live action version would have been preferable, an anime version was also very much welcome. So upon release, I binged the 6-episode series – first with the Filipino dub, then with the English dub. It’s an easy binge, really – totaling about 3 hours (like I said, one LOTR Extended Edition film was longer).

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As is obvious from the last prior post I published, it’s been a long time since I’ve updated my blog. I’ve been busy at work, but the current quarantine situation has basically told me: no more excuses.

I’ve been meaning to post reviews about the massive number of Thai BL series I’ve been following as well as travel blogs about BL-related places I’ve been to from SOTUS, My Dear Loser: Edge of 17, TayNew Meal Date, and others in the last couple of years. Another overdue post would be about the Our Skyy: Fan Meeting in Taipei which I went to in July 2019. Watch out for those!

In the meantime, while I gear up to get into all of that, I wrote another article for Esquire PH, this time to talk about Thai BL: what its literary roots are, what its cultural context is, and how it has evolved.

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I wanted to like the film Felix Manalo. I really did.

Yes, despite not being a fan of the INC, I am a fan of good films, especially good local ones, given that there has been a dearth of such in the past but where there has been hope in the last few years with the likes of Norte, Heneral Luna, On The Job, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, and several others. Moreover, ours is a history and culture rich in subject matters that can be mined to boost the local filmmaking industry and to provide quality entertainment at par with global standards.

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