You can’t go wrong with a revenge story. Watching a group of evildoers get their deserved comeuppance is always a good time. Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet promises such a tale worthy of the greats. However, Hosoda quickly sheds the veneer of revenge for a tale of self-discovery.

Scarlet, the film’s eponymous character, is a princess on a quest for revenge against her uncle, a usurper who ordered the death of her father. However, before she can deal the killing blow, her uncle outsmarts the attempt by poisoning her. She dies and is teleported into a purgatory called the Otherworld. There, she must fight against the other departed to exact revenge from the other side.

So much for revenge

A mix between Dante’s Inferno and Hamlet, Scarlet should have the makings of an excellent revenge story. However, though Scarlet keeps revenge as her main motivation throughout the entire film, she eventually finds a new quest in discovering what she wants to be after she gets her retribution.

She meets Hijiri, a pacifist paramedic from the modern era, who persistently asks her to reconsider seeking violent ends to her enemies. With Hijiri in tow, Scarlet discovers that there is more value in helping other people and giving her enemies a second chance.

Was it a shift well earned?

Most revenge stories today come with a similar twist where the main character reevaluates their murderous rampage to seek inner peace. This usually comes after the murderous rampage. After all, how do you redeem someone who hasn’t done anything wrong?

In stories like these, satisfaction comes when the main character kills minor villains. After getting their fun, a traumatic incident causes them to lose their drive to fall short of killing the main villain. In some situations, the character sacrifices themselves to save someone else. In others, they choose to forgive the villain.

Scarlet fast-forwards straight to the finish by choosing less violent measure right from the beginning. As hellbent as she is on killing her uncle, she fails at every step, usually because of stronger enemies. The only thing she becomes good at is sparing and forgiving her foes, often prodded by allies.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with writing a unique take on the revenge story. However, Scarlet wants audiences to learn its lesson without going through the grueling work that often comes with such a lesson.

Hosoda wants to play it off as the futility of vengeance, and he’s right in making that the moral of the story. However, this just doesn’t stick.

A beauty on the screen

Amid all the criticism, Mamoru Hosoda always manages to deliver visually appealing pieces for the big screen. Scarlet is no different. It features hand-drawn animation that looks three-dimensional and laid on top of realistic scenery.

For all its misgivings, Scarlet transports audiences to a picturesque purgatory with a clear target, the Infinite Lands. If you love fantasy world-building, the movie showcases a fantasy worthy of the name. Though I had problems with Scarlet’s character, I still looked forward to seeing what comes next over the horizon.

Fans are finally getting an official first look at live-action Toph as Netflix has unveiled the first teaser trailer for Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

It’s been more than a year since the announcement of the live-action adaptation’s renewal for Seasons 2 and 3. The second season is slated in 2026.

Aside from a short trailer, Netflix also bared first look photos for the upcoming second installment. Season 2 features new cast member Miya Cech, who plays master Earthbender Toph in the series.

Returning cast members, meanwhile, include Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kawentiio as Katara, and Ian Ousley as Sokka, among others.

In Season 2, after a bittersweet victory saving the Northern Water Tribe from the Fire Nation, Avatar Aang, Katara, and Sokka regroup and set off on a mission to convince the elusive Earth King to aid their battle against the fearsome Fire Lord Ozai.

Book 2 of the renowned Nickelodeon animated series, of course, focuses on the Earth Kingdom, with Toph Beifong among the key characters throughout that season.

The narrative also becomes more complex, with Zuko’s character arc and as well as the role of Azula as one of the intriguing antagonist figures to set up Season 3.

The 78-second clip mostly previews Miya Cech as the live-action Toph, plus the visual effects fans can expect with her ability to manipulate rocks and see the world through seismic vibrations.

I have been yearning to see and hear BLACKPINK perform live since 2016.

My long-time university friends (even acquaintances) can prove how hyped I was during the barrage of BLACKPINK’s first set of debut teasers. That excitement went through the roof the very moment BOOMBAYAH and WHISTLE / 휘파람 (Hwiparam) music videos got out on YouTube.

Honestly, it’s a huge core memory that still lingers to me.

Who’s Next: Pink Punk?! 🩷🤘🏼

Did you know? BLACKPINK was originally planned as a 9-member girl group dubbed “Pink Punk.”

Not until other trainees left and fate decided to let them be another 4-member girl group of YG Entertainment just after the agency’s first hit girl group, 2NE1.

Backtracking my tweets from my aging K-Pop stan account, I was actually waiting for the group’s highly-anticipated arrival as early as March 2015.

what if that “Who’s next” teaser will be Pink Punk……………………..

— . (@vincenzvangogh) March 24, 2015

* As a refresher, BLACKPINK made their official debut with ‘Square One’ EP last August 8, 2016 — more than a year after I made that tweet.

Again, my inner girl group geekiness speaks out. Other notable trainees include:

• i-dle’s Miyeon
• former SECRET NUMBER’s Jinny
• The Ark’s Yuna (now Euna Kim)

The remaining two are now soloists who still have a passion for music:

• EB / Kim Eunbi
• Jang Hannah

Near, Far, Wherever You Are 🎶

Despite being a hardcore BLINK since 2016, I only got quite a handful of BLACKPINK-related mementos with me.

For one, there’s the Samsung Galaxy A80 BLACKPINK Edition unboxing we did back in 2019 (which I personally shot and edited).

Last January 2020, two months ahead the lockdown, I was the few chosen ones invited to attend the Korean giant’s ‘Awesome Galaxy’ event in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As unfortunate as it seems, they never performed any songs and only held a mini fan gathering that time. That’s still my closest encounter with the hit 3rd gen K-girl group.

FINALLY: BLACKPINK has appeared on the stage. They will serve as judges for all the BLACKPINK cover groups from Southeast Asia that will perform here tonight at Samsung’s Awesome Live Event.#GalaxyA#GalaxyAwithBlackpink#GalaxyA51#GalaxyA71#AwesomeLive@GadgetMatch pic.twitter.com/wuq57fhWC5

— . (@vincenzvangogh) January 14, 2020

Pandemic halted the world, but it never stopped me from dedicating my very first vivo V-series phone review write-up in relation to BLACKPINK’s first full album promotion during that time.

Five years in, finally, here we are! The much-awaited concert of BLACKPINK is honestly one of the things I least expected to ever see in 2025.

D-DAY = DEADLINE-Day 💅

Longing sentiments aside, THE day has finally arrived.

I came to see BLACKPINK’s ‘DEADLINE’ Day 1 Stop at Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

After that dreamy golden hour, the arena’s pink stairs illuminated to showcase the group’s official color. A perfect complement to everyone’s black and pink fits.

No one asked but, I’m the type of person who often goes cashless — or someone who relies heavily on card payments and just keeps a handful of hard cash in my bag’s pockets.

Luckily, the existence of Maya cards (both the Maya Black Credit Card and the glitzy Pink Glitter Edition one) truly helped me replenish and fill-up that pre-concert void.

These cards have been helpful along my cashless purchases.

From hydrating myself with water (and iced coffee) after roaming around the arena, all the way to filling my appetite with pizza right before entering my designated concert section and seat, it’s been a hassle-free experience.

As easy as tapping your card towards the payment terminal, you’re off the hook and free to go whenever, wherever.

There was even a dedicated Visa booth that gave away freebies (such as a portable fan and power bank) just by showing the Maya card/s that you own.

Going beyond the arena’s doors, you’d be greeted by a lot of BLINKs holding their old and new versions of BLACKPINK lightsticks.

During this time, it was still not sinking in to me. I just sat on my assigned seat just so I can fully immerse myself in this massive concert crowd.

BLACK to the PINK 🖤🩷

After waiting for 15 more minutes, the lights and VCR finally went off while BLINKs screamed as loud as they can.

The set was started by the pre-pandemic hit Kill This Love followed by their second to the latest single Pink Venom (which was released three years ago, BTW).

I’m not saying that having a fewer-than-usual discography as a 9-year-old girl group is a good thing.

However, BLACKPINK’s ‘DEADLINE’ Tour still made me hear and relive their recent BLACK tracks like and Shut Down alongside classics such as How You Like That together with뚜두뚜두 (DDU-DU DDU-DU),

Even BOOMBAYAH was never forgotten — or the banger that made me stan them since the very beginning.

The group’s “Pink Side” was even shown through Lovesick Girls, Forever Young, 불장난 (Playing With Fire), 휘파람 (WHISTLE), even 마지막처럼 (As If It’s Your Last).

Their latest group release, JUMP, was also included in the setlist.

This is the part where everyone actually had the chance to stand up and jump high in the air — myself included in the narrative.

Un poco loco over solo 🤯

ICYMI, BLACKPINK already left YG Entertainment (their OG agency) and went all-out solo with their respective agencies.

That’s Jennie with ODD ATELIER, Lisa with LLOUD, Jisoo with BLISSOO, and lastly, Rosé with THEBLACKLABEL — which was founded by YG’s former producer, TEDDY, who released all hit songs for one of the biggest girl group acts of K-Pop.

Fortunately, despite separating ways, this DEADLINE tour made it possible to perform all of the members’ latest solo releases.

After researching for a bit, I’ve found out that the setlist was NOT fixed / definite in every stop.

DEADLINE’s Act 2 (at least in the first day) was introduced by Jisoo with Hugs & Kisses followed by Earthquake.

It was then followed by Lisa with When I’m With You and Rockstar.

After another OT4 group act, Jennie started Act 4 with the wonder hit Like Jennie mashed alongside ExtraL plus Starlight.

Finally, Rosé (or Rosie) ended the solo act with an acoustic performance of number one girl alongside a band performance of toxic till the end. Of course, APT. was never excluded in this set list as everyone chanted “아파트” (a-pa-teu) so hard and danced like crazy.

En route to the core ➡️

Just when everyone thought it already ended, my gut feeling told me a K-Pop concert wouldn’t be complete without an encore. I was right all along.

Once again, BLACKPINK shooketh the venue with another JUMP performance. This time, they’ve changed to another set of stage outfits — which looked more comfy and lax for all members.

After some fan service and cute fan interactions, they performed Really. My inner self gasped as it’s actually one of my favorite BLACKPINK b-sides ever.

As unfortunate as it gets, they had to end it with See U Later. Maybe that’s a sign that they will come back again — or maybe never?

From Concert Dreams to Reality ✨

I’m an aging veteran K-Pop stan for more than 16 years now.

Admittedly, no matter how dedicated I am when it comes to streaming a lot of groups’ music and performances on several platforms, I’ve never been the concert-goer type of fan.

I’m THAT “broke” type of fan during my elementary, high school, and even university days who relies heavily on granted scholarships. Thus, not having that severe FOMO that most K-Pop fans truly dire and desire.

Still, seeing BLACKPINK for the first time ever since I stanned them last August 2016 has always been a long-time dream.

Not only I get to see and hear Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé perform live, I’ve finally crossed out one thing out of my bucket list after nine long years of being a BLINK.

What a way to truly end my year in advance (and belatedly celebrate my birthday more than a month ago 😅).