Anime That I’ve Recently Watched

Other than rewatching and still going through Hunter x Hunter and One Piece, I have been pretty invigorated in anime. Although the subculture has not been filled with the best new anime this year, I am finding shows that I am loving. Some of these shows might not be for everybody but they are all unique and great in their own way.

Ranking of Kings

This anime from 2021 is special. It follows a decently simple design with its fable format. This anime is made to resonate with real-world emotions and difficulties that many may face such as depression and hopelessness. It opens up the world to disabilities and the difficulties of trying to work around them. The protagonist in this story Bojji is both deaf and mute, as well as is especially weak in a world sanctioned by power. Despite his setbacks in life he decides to work to become the best version of himself. This feel-good story is accompanied by a unique animation style that is enticing to the highest degree. The show has not ended yet but I am highly anticipating the finale.

9.1/10

Hajime No Ippo

This anime is a story of a rising superstar. A hard-hitting boxing talent is known as Ippo Makuonochi, and his journey to the Flyweight Title of Japan. This show is made for fans of boxing, bringing in-depth details of fighting, training, and experience in the fighting world. It’s a feel-good anime with an almost dangerously optimistic outlook on brain damage in the sport (until it’s explored at the end of the second season). I personally enjoyed this anime because of the evolutions the characters go through. The anime and the sport are both about harnessing talent and power to become something unintelligible. I would definitely recommend this anime to anybody that is a fan of boxing.

9.1/10

Space Dandy

Space Dandy, although not being a show that I’ve recently seen, it is something that I feel I must recommend. This show follows a classic blueprint similar to that of Cowboy Bebop, where a group of three eccentric characters travels through space collecting aliens from around the galaxy. This layout can feel overdone or boring to some, however, I don’t believe this to be an anime based on its plot, but rather on its animation. Every episode is created with a different director, writer, animation director, and storyboard director. This show about “A dandy guy in space” became grounds for many animators to build careers for themselves in the anime/manga world. This mysterious show about mysterious characters makes you ask questions with seemingly no answer other than weird space jibber-jabber, but every episode still finds its way to leave a viewer incredibly satisfied with the 20 minutes they spent watching an episode. The show is fantastic and I recommend it to anybody and everybody (I also recommend not skip the intro song as it is fire.

9.2/10

Not Artistic

http://www.artsy.net

I feel guilty for the grades I get in art class. I feel the pieces I do shouldn’t be called art, they are just drawings, sketches, and paintings. In other words, they are not artistic.

But what is considered artistic? Is there a standard to measure how artistic art is?

If we evaluate art on its aesthetics, many pieces will be disqualified. Because for pieces like Duchamp’s toilet and Maurizio Cattelan’s banana duct-taped to a wall, you can’t really tell if it’s atheistic. Especially in modern art, a lot of artworks don’t even have a concrete representation. With these cases, the value of art can’t be determined by if it looks pretty. Many artists also purposefully create art that is “disturbing” or “unpleasant” to the public, which is not “pretty” in the eyes of most viewers. But they are considered art.

Elden Ring Keeps Getting Better

When I wrote my first blog post about Elden Ring I was about 25% through the game with about 20ish hours on record. Now, 2 or so weeks later, I have 106 hours and I’m almost done with my first playthrough. If I thought that Elden Ring was the peak of gaming at the time, I was wrong, because the mid to end game was getting ready to completely blow me away. The end game of Elden Ring is so fun. There is literally no other game that can feel so fresh even over a hundred hours into this game. Every single boss and area is a fresh and enjoyable challenge. Not only that, but the variety of builds that are possible in Elden Ring is insane. When I first picked up Dark Souls 3 I was bewildered by the variety of builds that I could run, but Elden ring is on another level. Elden Ring gives the players full creative control to switch their build at any time after a certain point, which was also a feature in Dark Souls 3. However, I have never respecked in my multiple playthroughs because it’s simply too short to want to switch builds mid-game so most players just try new builds on their next playthrough. However, the sheer size of Elden Ring almost encourages players to use this feature as switching builds to keep the playthrough fresh even to the end.

Photo Credit: nme.com

The end-game of Elden Ring is honestly my favorite part of the game. Before I got there, there were hundreds of posts all over the internet of people complaining about how unbalanced the late game portion is. I honestly have no idea what these people are talking about. It’s probably because most players don’t level vigor and just get one-shotted by literally every enemy past the Plateau. The Endgame is most definitely very difficult, but the game gives the players all the tools necessary to handle the Endgame. I mean even souls veterans who are well aware of how broken some builds can be are complaining about the difficulty of the endgame and speculating that it wasn’t playtested. I don’t believe that for one second. The increasing challenge of Elden Ring through to the end is exactly what drives me to keep coming back day after day for hours. Being slapped by every boss over and over again, learning their move set, and finally beating them after 10+ is literally the point of a Fromsoftware game. I seriously don’t understand this anti-difficulty sentiment in the Elden Ring community, not only does the game give you all the tools necessary to beat these enemies, but every other Souls or Fromsoftware game is insanely hard. I mean if you look at the Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 DLC or the Sekiro Endgame, these are some of the most difficult bosses in the gaming period. These games have always been about overcoming what seems to be an insurmountable challenge. The point of these games is to die over and over again because these enemies are truly more powerful than you are but through trial and error, eventually, you will beat them and that adrenaline is absolutely unbeatable in gaming. Because Elden Ring is so big, the difficulty had to spike, it had to keep going up so that players had the challenge to overcome. I hate to be that classic Souls series troll, but if you find yourself complaining about the endgame difficulty, git gud shitter.

Photo Credit: https://assets.gamepur.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/07141317/Malenia-intro-elden-ring-hand-of-malenia-guide-e1646684005597.jpg

Golf Practice

My golf game is in a perpetual cycle of shit. I haven’t had a great round in over a year, there is always something going wrong. When I am hitting fairways I am not hitting greens. When I am hitting greens and putting well I am missing fairways. When I am chipping and putting well I am hitting snap hook hosel rockets straight into the ground. Nothing ever goes right.

My driver must live in a state of constant fear due to the amount I fucking throw it. I am in a consistently unhappy angry mood on the golf course. Everything is too complicated, grips, swing length, swing plane, swing tempo, shot aim, wind, and lie all factor into one shot. I have decided to simplify the game.

Every golf practice since I have made the change, I begin by hitting 9 chip shots, iron shots for accuracy, iron shots for tempo, then woods and drivers for accuracy, then I finish with 30 minutes of gate putting to drill in my stroke and tempo. I also need to be sure to not overcomplicate swing changes, instead, I need to implement more subtle changes.

I have decided to really buckle down and focus on playing as well as I can and this practice regiment is hopefully what gets me there.

Mi a leff, Inna di morrows – Navraj22

The Best Thing Ever Made

If you know me personally, you know that as a masochist, FromSoftware(Souls-Like) games are literally my favorite types of games. Bloodborne, Sekiro, Dark Souls 3, and Dark Souls 1 are all four out of my top five games. However, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco just released their newest title, Elden Ring. Which had been in the works since before Sekiro was released in 2019. It is now 2022, three years later, and Elden Ring is finally here. And it’s the best thing I’ve ever played. From minor detail to major detail this game is as close to perfect as anyone can get. (I play this on PC so I am aware of and have experienced the frame stutter when in fights, but they’re already fixing it and it really doesn’t take away from the experience at all).

Photo Credit: TechRadar

First of all, this game is absolutely gorgeous. Elden Ring is hands down the most artistically and graphically impressive game I’ve ever played. Sure there are a lot of games with technically better or more realistic graphics but, the care and detail put into making this world is absolutely unparalleled. As an open-world game, I was expecting it to be a little lazy with lots of walking around between one interesting location to the next like most large open-world games. I was wrong. This world is jam-packed with detail, easter eggs, items, side quests, characters, hidden levels, the list goes on. And every single one is great with immense detail, no enemy, no boss, no area feels unfinished. Every nook and cranny is filled with fun things to do. It is the single best open-world game I’ve ever played. And as a souls game, it is easily the best. It brings back my favorite part of Dark Souls one which is semi non-linear progression. Instead of only being able to go to one level and being stuck there if you’re under-leveled or skilled, you have the option to go do something else and explore the lush and lore-rich world that surrounds you.

Photo Credit: IGN

Secondly, Elden Ring takes everything good about the other games and packs them all into one. Weapon arts from DS3? Check. You can even change your weapon art on the fly. Powerstancing from DS2? Check. I am currently power-stancing two greatswords. A separate jump button from Sekiro? Check! 83 bosses??? CHECK. This game is jam-packed with content, it is everything FromSoftware learned from all the time they’ve been making games. And just like the masterpiece that is Bloodborne, it is a completely separate game from Dark Souls in every way. It doesn’t matter that the combat is technically similar, the environment, the feeling of playing Elden Ring, the satisfaction is all just on a different level from their previous games. It is a culmination of all of their previous masterpieces. If there’s any game that defines the spirit and the artistic value of gaming, especially RPGs and Open World games, it’s Elden Ring. I adore this game.

Plus it has the two best NPC’s ever in gaming, Pot man and Wolfman. Buy it right now

Photo Credit: IGN

Euphoria

I really did not want to start watching Euphoria. I don’t know why. My friends all pressured me to watch the show and I simply didn’t want to. It was a tough sell, nobody could really elaborate what was so special about it. I had watched the first episode and did not feel connected enough to the characters and decided the show wasn’t for me. That was until last weekend.

I went over to my friends house and she put the new episode on. It got me invested in the show.

I am so mad I waited this long. I am really invested in the lives of every character, even though not caring about the characters was the thing that put me off in the beginning. The storyline is impossible and outlandish by design, but it undoubtedly sucks you in.

Personally, I really like Fez.

It is impossible to write this blog post without spoilers, so I now understand how my friends felt trying to convince me to watch the show. I can’t say too much, as that would ruin it. I can’t say too little, as then you wouldn’t watch it.

All I will say is, the many storylines that weave together is incredibly entertaining and I implore you to watch the show.

Don’t go below the picture if you don’t want a spoiler

PC: Esquire

(P.S. I hope Fez and Lexi happens)

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Recently, I just finished the Tokyo Ghoul manga for the first time. 30 volumes later and a lot of money spent, I finally finished it and I can say with the utmost confidence that it is the single best thing I have ever read and will ever read. If you haven’t already read Tokyo Ghoul, I urge you to do so and also to not read this blog as there will be a lot of spoilers as it is very hard to gush about it without completely spoiling the series. If I got into every aspect of what makes Tokyo Ghoul absolutely amazing this one blog post would be an entire novel so I’ll try to separate them all into different posts.

Before I start fully gushing and explaining the story, there are a few things I need to explain. There are ghouls and humans. Ghouls are similar to humans in every way except for the fact that they have especially enhanced physical abilities as well as enhanced resistance and healing. They have the same faces, the same brain chemistry, and even feel the same. Ghouls can have far more complicated lives and trauma than most humans could even comprehend. Ghouls are strong but fragile creatures that need the same care and attention that humans do. Their physical abilities make it extremely difficult to kill without a special weapon. Fortunately, Ghouls are given a special weapon. Ghouls are born with an extra organ known as a kahuo which produces kagunes that have the ability to take a ghoul’s life or inflict mortal injuries. Generally, ghouls are an eradication target for humans, and said eradications are executed by an organization known as the CCG who wield quinques which are basically dead ghouls kagune that a human can use.

Photo credit: i.pinimg

What makes Ghouls especially interesting is that there are four types of Kahuo, Ukakau, Kokaku, Rinkaku, and Bikaku. Ukaku’s reside on the top of the ghouls back. Ukaku users are agile and operate at the range, they hit hard but their endurance is not great. Kokakus are near the upper-middle back and tend to be more sword-like, heavy, and hard-hitting weapons. Rinkakus reside near the lower-middle back and tend to be frailer in nature but also abundant. Typically a more tentacle-like weapon with fast-moving and acrobatic movements as well as immense healing abilities. The main character is a Rinkaku. Bikaku kahous are at the very lower back and tend to be more tail-like weapons that can be immensely capable if the user uses them well. The General rule is that the kahuo below is stronger than the kahuo above. What makes them even more interesting is that ghouls can cannibalize and consume other kahuos to use their abilities and enhance their own. This becomes very important throughout the manga.

Unlike any other monsters vs. humans anime/manga, the monsters are just as much of a protagonist as the humans, which constantly leaves the reader confused over who to side with and who really deserves to live. This moral struggle leads the reader to realize that it’s not ghouls or humans who are wrong, the world is wrong.

photo credit: w7.pngwing

Next, there’s the main character, Ken Kaneki, a quiet and frail boy with little confidence and only one real friend. Kaneki meets an especially strong ghoul named Rize. Unknowing that she is a ghoul, the two go on a date. Rize is about to eat Kaneki when a stack of steel beams falls on the two of them, putting them in the hospital. Rize’s life is forfeit and the only way to save Kaneki is by giving her ghoul abilities to Kaneki. Ken has now been struck with the burden of being a ghoul and needing to feed on the human matter despite living as a human for his whole life. Kaneki is taken in by a mysterious ghoul named Mr. Yoshimura who owns a coffee shop where Kaneki would live and work as he found his footing in the ghoul world.

As the story progresses, Kaneki has now had feet in both worlds. In the ghoul world he is loved, needed, and accepted. Kaneki cannot embrace his own ghoul powers and for the majority of the first part, he continually puts his ghoul friends in danger to save his skin. Kaneki won’t eat, won’t sleep, and most importantly is unwilling to unleash his immense latent power to do what needs to be done. By the mid-season, both our ghoul friends and the CCG have a clear common enemy. Aogiri tree, a group of ghouls set to create a new world for ghouls to exist in peace. However, their noble cause is executed through eradication and suffering much like the CCG. Both Aogiri tree and the CCG have horribly psychopathic members obsessed with eradication and death, but still have many members who truly want change in the world but have no better options. Two opposite goals clash with each other endlessly with no forward progress.

The first part of Tokyo Ghoul is an absolutely genius introduction into this world. The readers are given a tragic hero, stuck in the in-between, trying to navigate the Ghoul world as a former human. He sees the immense horrors of both worlds, although he has not scratched the surface of his own power, he himself has some idea of his own abilities. He knows that he must take or be taken and for the entirety of the first season, he allows himself to be taken, hiding behind his selfish morals and his own idea that he is not strong enough.

Finally, at the end of the first part, Kaneki is captured by an especially psychopathic ghoul who is also obsessed with Rize, the owner of Kaneki’s Kahuo. This ghoul, Jason A.K.A. Yamori is part of Aogiri Tree and suffered horrible torture earlier in his life, causing him to completely break and become one of the most feared ghouls in Aogiri Tree. Jason tortures Kaneki for hours and hours on end. Jasons horrible torture methods push Kaneki over the edge, and in a vision with Rize, he finally realizes the extent of his power. In one of the best scenes with one of the best art, Kaneki kills Jason, finally gaining control of his Kagune and leaving his morals behind. Kaneki is a killer now and he has a plan to find the doctor that turned him into a ghoul and understand who he is.

Even though Tokyo Ghoul part one is the least of what Sui Ishida can accomplish, it is the perfect introduction to one of the best Mangas ever written.

Photo Credit: Fiction Horizon

My Favorite Lyrics from All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)

I haven’t really been into Taylor Swift’s music since elementary school, but I really like the 10-minute version of All Too Well. Here are my favorite lyrics from it.

“Til we were dead and gone and buried 
Check the pulse and come back swearing it’s the same 
After three months in the grave”

Love the metaphor here. I feel like I’ve also been in a toxic, loveless relationship when I hear this lyric.

“You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath”

If your partner is trying to hide your relationship when you’ve told them you don’t want to, that’s a red flag. They’re definitely doing something shady if they’re completely against having a public relationship when you want one.

“And you call me up again just to break me like a promise 
So casually cruel in the name of being honest”

This lyric is really pretty. I love it. I don’t like people who say mean things and then try to excuse their words because they’re “just saying” or “just being honest.” Like, it’s not that hard to not be a jerk.

“You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine 
And that made me want to die”

This lyric definitely sums up the fundamental problem with Taylor’s relationship with the unnamed man (who is Jake Gyllenhaal). Taylor was only 20 when she started dating a 29-year-old. It might not seem like a big gap because they were both legal adults, but that’s the same age gap between a 16-year-old and a 25-year-old. That perspective makes the age gap clearly inappropriate. Also, Taylor was barely an adult. She had only been of age for two years, whereas Jake had been an adult for over ten years. She realizes later that he took advantage of her because she was young and is ashamed of it.

“But you keep my old scarf from that very first week 
Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me”

Here’s another lyric that points out the problem of their relationship. Her scarf reminds him of innocence because she was barely an adult when he started dating her. She was young and innocent, and she didn’t realize that their relationship was inappropriate until it was over. Jake went after her because she was young, pretty, and didn’t know any better.

“Wind in my hair, you were there 
You remember it all”

This lyric is a reprise of the end of the first chorus. Taylor changes the lyric from “I was there I remember it all.” to address Jake and say “you were there you remember it all.” It points out that Taylor wasn’t solely at fault for ending up in a bad relationship with someone too old for her. Jake was also there, and Jake knew exactly what he was doing. He remembers everything too, but he doesn’t have the same shame around the relationship that Taylor does. Taylor didn’t know that the relationship wasn’t okay, but Jake did and he pursued her anyways.

“And I was never good at telling jokes, but the punch line goes 
I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age”

I love the blatant call-out. It’s also completely accurate. Jake’s current girlfriend, Jeanne Cadieu, is 25 years old. He’s 40 years old. It doesn’t take a psychologist to realize all the reasons why this isn’t okay at all, but for reference – Jake would be 21 years old (the legal drinking age in the U.S.) while Jeanne was 6 (in 1st grade in the U.S.). With an age gap this big, it doesn’t matter if they’re both of legal age right now because it doesn’t change the fact that there’s a huge gap in maturity, experience, and understanding of right and wrong. The age gap is completely ridiculous and frankly disgusting.

In conclusion, Jake Gyllenhaal is a creep and a borderline pedophile. If this statement seems like an exaggeration, consider the fact that if Jake was attracted to a 25-year-old when he was 40 and a 20-year-old when he was 29, it’s reasonable to assume that he was attracted to minors when he was in his early and mid-twenties. He has a pattern of dating people that are much younger than him.

I really like this song even though the content is sad. I reccomend listening to it.

Video by Taylor Swift on YouTube

Taylor Swift: Red (Taylor's Version) Album Review | Pitchfork

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-red-taylors-version/

Allow me to put you on.

This is just a compiled list of stuff I have liked or thought is cool recently

Vests:

It is most definitely vest season. Recently, I have been waking up in the morning to an extremely damp 55 degrees, enduring 85-degree highs on the hill, then returning home to frigid cold. Ventura County can’t decide if it’s winter or summer, still clinging on to aspects of summer while embracing parts of winter. I guess it’s fall but I like my longwinded description better.

Anyways, I’ve been super hyped on vests recently, specifically this Stussy Sherpa Vest:

Striped Sherpa Vest - Fleece Outerwear | Stüssy
PC;

Mine is purple and green. It’s sick.

I like to wear it with shorts, a white tee, and my Birkenstock Bostons (which we will touch on later), but it can also be worn with jeans and a tee-shirt or literally anything. That’s the beauty of the vest.

Birkenstock Boston’s:

The most comfortable foot experience ever.

If you’ve been on the hill in the past month you may have noticed I have worn clogs every day for 2 months now and it’s safe to say there is no going back. I used to be really into sneakers, but recently, I find myself picking birks over every other shoe.

In my current period of grinding college applications and AP class homework into the midnight hours, I care far less about my appearance in the morning: as long as I apply the stick of Old Spice Fiji floating around my truck before being around my peers, I’m valid. That’s not to say these shoes don’t look great with most outfits, I just have been putting less thought into outfits and my tan Birk clogs are perfect for that. They are also great for slipping into after hours of cramming my feet into soccer cleats for 2 hours or for skipping down chicken trail.

They are just the best

Boston Suede Leather | shop online at BIRKENSTOCK
PC: Birkenstock

The Top Gear Radio Special:

Top Gear is my favorite show of all time. I was not a car guy when I got into it and still wouldn’t categorize myself as one, but there is just something about the humor, wit, and gab Clarkson, May, and Hammond have that makes me keep coming back. This is a radio segment from when the guys took over a random BBC station outside of London in 2006. The old news and hilarious traffic advice make this a must-listen. I play it in the car on my way to and from school periodically, and I really enjoy it. You don’t have to like cars. You don’t have to like Brits. Just listen. Trust me.

VC: Top Gear (posted by freshrigi)

Anyways, I might make this a recurring thing. Consider yourself

PUT ON

My Top 5 Glass Animals Songs

I’m going to a Glass Animals concert soon because they’re my favorite band, so here are my favorite Glass Animals songs. They’re a great band, and if you don’t know them you should definitely listen to them.

Content warning: talk of drugs, self-destructive behavior, mental illness, suicide, sex, pedophilia, and other mature themes

Also a disclaimer- my favorite album by them is How To Be A Human Being so most of these will be from that album. This album explores the stories of 11 characters (some based on real people) in the 11 songs on the track. The album cover shows every person who’s story is told. The album is seriously amazing, both sound-wise and because of the story behind it.

Number 5- Agnes from How To Be A Human Being

Agnes is such a beautiful and bittersweet song that I can’t help but put it in my top five. The song is about a woman named Agnes who is struggling to cope with addiction and mental health issues. It is told from the perspective of someone who is presumably very close with her. It’s a meaningful song for people who have watched a friend – or even themselves – be lost to their self-destructive tendencies. The song ends with the narrator implying that Agnes has committed suicide, which is fitting because it’s the last song on the album.

Lines from the song that hit especially hard are, “I want to hold you like you’re mine,” and, “You’re gone but you’re on my mind; I’m lost but I don’t know why.” The first line implies that the narrator might be in love with Agnes but never got the chance to act on his feelings because she killed herself. The second line makes the concept of suicide feel more real for people who have never had someone close to them commit suicide or attempt to. It also gives perspective for suicidal people that people care about them and they have so much to live for.

The narrator of Agnes is pictured in the center of the album cover on all three covers. He is either holding a camera up over his face, looking straight ahead, or holding his hands over his face. He faces forward in each album cover whereas every other character has their back turned on one version of the cover.

Number 4- Poplar St from How To Be A Human Being

Poplar St is told from the perspective of a boy who lived on the street the song is named after. He starts off talking about his childhood living on Poplar St and how he would climb trees and scrape his knees. He mentions that he saw a woman named Mrs. Moore having sex with one of his other neighbors. Since she uses the prefix “Mrs.” it’s likely that Mrs. Moore was having an affair.

In the next verse, the narrator says that his mom never liked Mrs. Moore and thought she looked like a prostitute because of the clothes and makeup she wore. It’s assumed that the narrator has aged and hit puberty because he then says that Mrs. Moore seduced him and brought him to her house to have sex with him. This reveals the true nature of Mrs. Moore that was hinted at in the first verse. She’s a predatory woman who uses men – or even teenage boys – for sex.

The first line of the chorus makes sense now- “I feel like a new man.” The narrator is only a teenager, but he feels like a mature because he has a relationship with an adult woman. He is driven by hormones and doesn’t realize that what he is doing is completely wrong.

In the last verse, he says, “Just another boy who lived on Poplar St; tangled up in lust and her exotic needs.” He isn’t the only teenager who was a victim of Mrs. Moore’s pedophillic actions. He then says that Mrs. Moore called collect (which is charging the calling fee to the person who you call, so he had to pay the fee) and broke up with him over the phone.

Mrs. Moore is on the right side of every album cover. She wears a white dress and sometimes sunglasses.

Number 3- Heat Waves from Dreamland

Heat Waves has been Glass Animals’ top hit since it came out, and for good reason. It’s a great song that has addictive sounds and meaningful lyrics. It’s stated by the band on the storyline feature of Spotify that the song is about noticing that you’ve changed from who you used to be and that an important relationship in your life has been ruined by who you’ve become. This hits home for me because I’ve definitely had points where I realize that I’m a different person and that I can’t go back to what used to be. I’ve also seen it happen to my close friends where they drift away because they’ve become someone who isn’t compatible with me.

The line “Sometimes all I think about is you” makes me think about myself before my ADHD started to really impact my life. Everything got harder around the time I hit puberty because of the new mix of hormones interacting with my ADHD. Sometimes I think about where I would be if I didn’t have ADHD, but then I realize that I am who I am because of my ADHD. My favorite things come from my hyperfixations, my personality from my symptoms, and my mannerisms from mimicking the people around me. It’s a lot to deal with sometimes, and I feel like this song encapsulates my own struggle even if it’s not specifically about my situation.

Number 2- The Other Side Of Paradise from How To Be A Human Being

This song is my favorite solely because of the music behind the lyrics. It’s mentally stimulating to listen to, especially with the volume all the way up and the bass boosted. It’s catchy, fun, and kinda gives me an adrenaline rush if I’m being honest. The story behind it is cool too, but honestly the instrumental is my favorite part of it.

The Other Side Of Paradise was their top hit before Heat Waves came out. It was definitely my favorite song by them at one point. I love to listen to it when I’m writing fighting scenes because I think of choreography while listening to the song and then translate it into words.

The story of the song is about a man who leaves his girlfriend to become a professional basketball player and ends up becoming a totally different person than the person she had been dating. The girlfriend is the narrator. The character of the basketball player is pictured in the center behind everyone else. He is either spinning a basketball on his finger or holding the basketball in every cover.

Number 1- Season 2 Episode 3 from How To Be A Human Being

This was actually the song that got me into the band. I heard it on TikTok and immediately searched the lyrics to figure out what song it was. I listened to it alone for a few months, then decided to check out the other songs in the album. The rest is history.

This is another song that I love because of the music. Glass Animals has great percussion in all of their songs, but this one definitely is the best. The vocals are super good too, though.

The story is about a girl who’s has a marijuana addiction. It’s told by someone who is presumably her partner. They talk about how she can’t seem to get off the couch, is always high, and isn’t prioritizing their relationship anymore. They say, “So it hurts to say it’s hopeless; and we ain’t gonna make it.” Her partner is planning on leaving her because of her dependency on marijuana to get through the day and inability to live without it. It’s a message about the ways drugs can change people for the worse, like a few other songs on the album.

The girl being described in the song is in the bottom left corner of the album cover. She wears a blue sweater and has a small gaming device in every cover, which is a reference to the style of the music video.

Those are my favorite Glass Animals songs. It was hard to choose rankings for them. I’m really excited to see them live.

Update from after I saw the concert: it was SO GOOD. They’re amazing in person and so passionate about what they do. I love Dave so much.

How many variations of the How to Be a Human Being album cover are there?:  glassanimals
https://external-preview.redd.it/secRuu_chITLve7aDWkxFXEOtCO_Ps6pTjNvO52yUOo.jpg?auto=webp&s=3c4ab7900d8c2a90a6103d66a6afaaa2236a52be
How many variations of the How to Be a Human Being album cover are there?:  glassanimals
https://www.indieshuffle.com/bundles/webbundle/images/artwork/thumb_500_500/1472467859.3783_14115409-10153614052301152-4395501714304156370-o.jpg
How many variations of the How to Be a Human Being album cover are there?:  glassanimals
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