Achievement Unlocked: Publication

I am delighted to share that my poem 'One Last Ride' was published by Perhappened Magazine in their first issue The team made the decision to keep this issue password-protected for the first week of its release. However, the password will be given to any non-contributors who have shown proof of donation or signed petitions/email chains in the name of Black Lives Matter!

My poem, and the other works in Issue One, can be found here: https://www.perhappened.com/issue1carnival.html

Thank you so much for your continued support of me and my career.

Have a great day,
And remember!
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley!

Achievement Unlocked: Publication

Today has been a great day! I recently finished a short story, written in the stream of consciousness style, paying attention to thoughts, concerns etc. about the state of affairs amidst the coronavirus pandemic. I paid attention to buying habits, buyers remorse and financial concerns, telling the story of a girl called Abby as her siblings and father spend their savings to keep themselves entertained while in lockdown, while she is just grateful to have a positive bank balance.

This story was published today by Pendemic, a literary magazine / blog hybrid with a goal to document experiences during the pandemic. It is available to read at the link below.

https://t.co/bc2vwc3fGk?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR1QpmJAyIf2HhbaA0QIsieTvs4EbcSX5-dGW7svQrBFjphB7sf_nrBsadw

Thank you all so much for supporting me and my craft, especially in times like now. I am grateful to you all for your continued support.

Happy reading!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Achievement Unlocked: Publication

Today, my review of Dave Eggers' The Circle was published by Essex Book Festival! The festival was unable to continue its events due to the coronavirus pandemic that struck the UK, and they cancelled the final few events remaining prior to the UK lockdown. I was contacted directly by the festival, as I had applied to volunteer with hope I would provide a review of something I had read recently. You can read my review at the link below, where you can also support Essex Book Festival.

https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/what-we-are-reading-now-the-circle-by-dave-eggers/

Thank you so much for supporting me and my journey as a writer. I am so grateful to you for reading!

And remember,
Per Artdua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Achievement Unlocked: Publication

I'm so happy to share that my poem, entitled Deforestation has just been published on the Trick Magazine website! This piece was really fun to write, I loved getting to explore double-meanings and metaphors within it. You can read my poem here: 
https://www.trickzine.com/post/deforestation?fbclid=IwAR2y5JnpIWdJlUmGFBZFwCMhvNa61Fj6rVl9KDFf7Erk03Bioa8-w5O-cMQ

Thank you all for supporting my craft thus far! 

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

7/4/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompts

Today, 7/4/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

Today is especially special as it marks the fiftieth week that I have shared a writing prompt inspired by my university experience! I'm so glad that this segment has been around for so long, I really enjoy sharing these quote prompts with you all! 

PROMPT #50:

"Someone just sent a glass of milk to our table? Do we have to pay for this?"

I'm sure many of you have heard of the joke of posting your table number and location on social media in order to get friends and followers to order food and drink for you at establishments like Wetherspoons. However, this wasn't one of those scenarios.

This actually happened on New Year's Eve. My friends and I were out at a Wagamamas celebrating a friend's 21st birthday before the night transitioned into a New Year's party. While we were waiting for our meals, a server came over with our drinks, which were varied, especially in such a large group. However, there was one drink which didn't belong on our table: a half-pint glass of milk, which had been ordered to our table by someone that was not us. 

Another patron at the restaurant had ordered us this milk, and billed our table for the milk! It was madness! 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading!

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

3/4/20 - Favourite Character Praise Friday - Shintaro Midorima

Hello and welcome back to Favourite Character Praise Friday! This is one of my absolute favourite posts to write and I hope you enjoy my picking apart of my favourite characters enough to stick around while I examine my next victim, I mean, character. Don’t worry, I do not rank these characters in a particular order, it just so happens that some characters are better worth sharing praise for at a different point in time to others! Remember, every fifth instalment is Least Favourite Character Praise Friday, so keep an eye out for me probing at characters I can’t stand and raving about how well they were written in order to evoke such a reaction.

So, who is the subject of my next Favourite Character Praise Friday?

Shintaro Midorima from Kuroko No Basket / The Basketball That Kuroko Plays!

Warning: This will contain spoilers!

For those who aren’t the most familiar with this series, it follows a group of basketball prodigies that were all on the same team in middle school, that all decided to split up and attend different high schools for their own benefit. The main character Tetsuya Kuroko is the sixth former member of this powerhouse team, who just wants to continue to play his favourite sport. Meanwhile Taiga Kagami has just joined a new school and is looking to continue playing his favourite sport as well. They, both being enrolled at Serin High School, join their club and Kuroko, having recruited Kagami, seeing him as a person with enough potential to overpower his previous teammates: Kise, Midorima, Aomine,  ((arguably, also Momoi)), Murasakibara and Akashi begin their mission to face each of them on the court. Kuroko has the goal to bring back forth the honest and genuine personalities of his friends that have been consumed by their immense potential and subsequent egos. Kagami’s goal is to beat each member of this powerhouse team and become the best player in the High School circuit.

This is a show I didn’t initially expect to get invested in. But after watching the characters learn and grow throughout the first two seasons, I was on the edge of my seat, counting down the three months between my watching it, to the new season.

The first thing that drew me to Midorima was how drastically different he was from his previously-introduced Generation of Miracles counterparts, Tetsuya Kuroko and Ryota Kise. While it made sense for Kuroko not to care much about the esteem that came from being a member of this powerhouse team, Kise’s ego was much more understandable. It was made out that each of the members would be prideful from the get go. What I hadn’t expected was for Midorima to take himself so seriously and yet still present himself in such a ridiculous manner to ensure victory. Midorima is a religious believer in the power of horoscopes and lucky items. He believes in divinity and a higher power, feeling that he has been given such a great power in a field he is passionate about and is adamant he uses it. Midorima, therefore tapes the fingers of his left hand to keep them from being hurt during daily tasks and also carries a lucky item, each and every day, regardless of how random it might be. When he is first introduced, he approaches his former teammate, Kise after he lost a practice match to Kuroko’s team. He’s wearing his school uniform impeccably, without a speck of dirt on him, with his fingers taped, holding a ceramic frog that he has affectionately named Kerosuke or, even Mr Froggy in some translations! He carries himself as above other people, rigid in posture and cool and collected in tone and disposition.

The next reason I adore him would be how diligent he is to his sport. He understands that he has gained a great skill in basketball, with a range that expands across the entirety of a full-court match. He respects his own limits and does his best to learn how to expand them. Midorima is a hard-working player and strives to better himself and improve. When the team in middle school began to break down, with members refusing to attend practice due to already being the best of the best, with or without excessive efforts, Midorima is shown continuing to practice and hone his skills. During middle school, he unlocks what is referred to as his full potential, when he shoots his first basket from the opposite basket, and when he lands the shot, he realises that he needs to master this incredible skill.

The last reason I’d like to discuss here is how he feels about Takao. This isn’t a post about romantic dynamics, despite being a huge fan of them as a pairing. No, this is about what is canonically expressed in the source material – Midorima trusts Takao more than he was shown to have faith in any other character. When he and his team originally lost to Serin in Season One, he realised something, what Kuroko was trying to teach his former teammates. You cannot be the best player in Japan without having complete and total faith in your teammates to assist you. After all, without a team, nobody’s going to pass the ball to you. He understands this and from that point learns to interact and socialise with his teammates and learn to trust their own abilities playing. This leads to the ultimate tactical move, constructed solely to keep Akashi, the most destructive player from the former team, where Kazunari Takao would acquire the ball and throw it to Midorima, who was already jumping, ready to receive it, and shoot. It gave them a great chance of beating him. And after he thwarted Midorima and his team’s attempts, he was in tears, the team swore that they would beat him next time. The fact that this effort wasn’t just him and him alone, but Takao too, and the other four members of Team Shuutoku. I love how his character has developed in such a way!

Please, if you have opinions on Shintaro Midorima, feel free to share them with me! Don’t forget you can check out my previous Character Praise by looking through the hashtags below.

And remember!

Per Aruda Ad Astra

Achievement Unlocked: Publication

I'm so happy to share that my poem, entitled Elara has just been published Issue III of Ang(st) Magazine, an issue focused on the theme of Skin! This piece was really fun to write. You can read my contribution, as well as the amazing work of the other artists here:
https://angstfzine.com/portfolio/issue-iii-april-2020/

Thank you all for supporting my craft thus far! 

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Happy Birthday, Me!

Hello Everyone!

Today is the 31st of March and is therefore my 22nd birthday! I am so excited to celebrate this year, blaring Taylor Swift's 22 and writing until I physically can't anymore! There are so many exciting things ahead and I'm hoping that this is going to be when I really start to realise my potential and get stuff done!

So, yes! Happy Birthday, Me!

31/3/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 31/3/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #49:

"The bitch just poured red wine into a bedazzled Starbucks cup and I have never felt more envious of someone’s lifestyle choices before!"

The above quote was something that I had said, recalling some of the events of what happened after a day at Comic Con. I had been listing off the most bizarre, yet on brand things that my social circle and I had managed to end up involved with during that evening and thus ended up mentioning the antics of one of my friends attempting to be subtle by pouring their alcohol into a reusable cup! 

When they did it initially, all of us had been completely dumbfounded by the ingeniousness. It was a fantastic idea, and what made it more apt was that the cup was covered in silver dimonte crystals! An amazing choice!  

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading!

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Achievement Unlocked: Publication

I'm so happy to share that my Love Letter To Five Centimetres Per Second by Makoto Shinkai has just been published on Just Films & That's blog! This piece was really fun to write. You can read my contribution here:
https://justfilmsandthat.tumblr.com/post/614011915831787520/five-centimetres-per-second-by-imogen-smiley

Thank you all for supporting my craft thus far! 

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

Achievement Unlocked: Publication

Hi everyone!

I'm delighted to announce that I have just had my first publication of 2020, 'The Introverted Hypochondriac's Coping Mechanisms', is officially up and available to read on Frost Meadow Review's website: http://frostmeadowreview.com/pandemic-poetry/

Thank you all for supporting my craft thus far! 

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra

- Imogen. L. Smiley

24/3/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt!

Today, 24/3/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #48:

"Why is your house full of flamingos?"

This was a question posed by a new friend upon visiting my house during the second year I was at university. Due to them not being very close with me at the time, they were, in no way, familiar with the characters from my stories or the inside jokes which had ensued consequently. For example, my character Floyd Daniels from the Neon Series, was known under the username Mr FlaminGO, which was a reference to the bright pink dye he had put on his hair before he was arrested for a crime he didn't commit at the start of the series. The joke about flamingos, and my favouritism toward him meant I was often gifted home-ware with a flamingo motif, from candles, to mugs, to garden ornaments.

During my second year, a garden flamingo whom we'd named Floyd in my character's honour, had been placed beside the fireplace, as a nod to an inside joke about him being set on fire. However, with my friend not knowing any of this information, they came in and just saw a living room filled with flamingo stuff. It was very funny to me and my housemates, who were all in on the joke. 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading!

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

20/3/20 - Favourite Character Praise Friday - Donna Sheridan

Hello and welcome back to Favourite Character Praise Friday! This is one of my absolute favourite posts to write and I hope you enjoy my picking apart of my favourite characters enough to stick around while I examine my next victim, I mean, character. Don’t worry, I do not rank these characters in a particular order, it just so happens that some characters are better worth sharing praise for at a different point in time to others! Remember, every fifth instalment is Least Favourite Character Praise Friday, so keep an eye out for me probing at characters I can’t stand and raving about how well they were written in order to evoke such a reaction.

So, who is the subject of my next Favourite Character Praise Friday?

Donna Sheridan from Mamma Mia & Mamma Mia Here We Go Again!

Warning: This will contain spoilers

Mamma Mia has been a part of my life for over a decade. I remember watching it on DVD throughout my early-teens and being obsessed with it. My sister and I learned all the songs and it was one of our favourite films to just sit down and watch. My mum used to put it on solely to make us shut up for an hour. We became very invested in the story of Sophie and her parentage. But eventually it became a film we were tired of.

It was a movie that wasn’t a big part of my life until my second year at university, where on a whim during a girls’ night in, my housemates and I decided to watch it, and we were belting out the lyrics, discussing who we thought was Sophie’s father and whether we were excited to see the sequel that was due to come out in the summer.

I saw Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again several times while it was in the cinema. Each time, the conclusion made me emotional. I didn’t realise how fond I was of Donna until I watched it at home with one of my housemates, Emma. The two of us ended up watching the previous film several times when we were living together in the previous year. So, for Donna to have died in the follow up film was a big shock to us.

Now! Onto what you guys are here for! The praise! 

The first reason I adore Donna as a character is she showed complete and total devotion to her daughter. It seems clear from the state of their business that most of the profits are going toward Sophie’s wedding. Donna is having to repair broken shutters, as well as cracks in the paving by hand instead of hiring a professional from the mainland to provide a service, meaning the quality of her hotel is slowly falling into disarray. Not that Donna outwardly appears to mind, or will care to admit, as long as Sophie is happy, she’s fine putting in all the extra effort. She doesn’t want to become a bother to either her friends, nor her only family, her daughter, and instead shoulders all of the responsibilities, knuckling down until the point where she is emotional at the thought of people giving her a hand.

I love how free-spirited Donna was always shown to be, when The Dynamos, Rosie and Tanya recall their glory days, they refer to her as the life and soul of the party, however, it is hard to imagine, until seeing the second film, where you get a glimpse of the summer that lead to Sophie’s conception. You see how fluid and graceful Donna was, not caring where she ended up, or how, she just wanted to experience life to the fullest. She is relatively care-free which can be misinterpreted as careless. She just wants to experience everything as soon as she encounters it, which does lead to her being with three men in a short space of time. I love that she could just go from being a completely free, fluid and happy graduate to a full-time single mother. It is a dramatic change and the way that she adapts shows how dynamic of a character she is. I really admire that about her.

I also loved the fact that ultimately, at the end of the first film, she was happy to let the love of her life, Sam Carmichael slip through her fingers once again. She had no intention of making a scene when he returned to her life and simply hoped that he would leave without causing hysteria. He made it very clear from his first interaction with her that he came in peace, raising his hands in mock surrender, and offering her assistance instead of belittling her for her efforts. As far as Donna was aware, he knew nothing of their potential child together, and it was just fate that had brought him back to the island. She made it clear, when singing The Winner Takes It All on the cliffside that she felt that Lorraine, the woman he left her to marry, had already managed to succeed in capturing his heart, and he was simply there to mock her for her efforts twenty years ago. Unbeknown to her, he had returned to reconcile and instead would end up proposing to her, in order not to waste all of the time, effort and money Donna had thrust into the wedding for Sophie, which would have otherwise been wasted. She, finally having heard his side of the story, accepts his proposal and they are married, something she always wanted.

Please, if you have opinions on Donna Sheridan, feel free to share them with me! Don’t forget you can check out my previous Character Praise by looking through the hashtags below.

And remember!

Per Aruda Ad Astra

17/3/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt

Today, 17/3/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #47:

"I have exactly 37 pairs of novelty sunglasses and none of them appear to be apt enough for this scenario"

      "Can I have the sparkly parrot ones anyways?"
"Absolutely!"

The above conversation took place during the summer of my first year of university, where I participated in a volunteering event at a local school. Two of my friends and I were running a "Smash The Crockery" stand at the school's summer fete as we were deemed responsible enough to take care of children's health and safety, whilst there being enough of us to prepare, clean and maintain the stall. Due to its nature, it was relatively popular. 

However, toward the end of the fete, we were in a scenario where we were trying to capture the children's attention as they were rushing for one last go on the bouncy castle before it was deflated. In order to do so, we decided amongst ourselves to wear some of the novelty sunglasses I had brought with me in a tote bag. But attracting children's attention proved harder than we had anticipated, and thus, we kept having to change it up. 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading!

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

12/3/20 - Imogen's A Theatre Nerd: Be More Chill!

I have been immensely fortunate when it comes to exposure to musical theatre and live-stage performances. When I was younger, my aunt used to purchase tickets for myself, my younger sister and my mother to see shows on the West End, some of which, I still have the programs for now. I remember the first West End show I went to was Hairspray when I was around eleven or twelve years old. We got to stage door after the performance and the programs we bought were covered with signatures from cast members that were delighted that we had enjoyed the show. The last time I went on one of those trips was when I was sixteen. I had seen Wicked with my family and not everyone had enjoyed the performance as much as I had. But I was still much too young to go to the theatre alone. However, my love for musical theatre in particular didn’t cease.

It was only recently, in October of 2018, that I went to another West End performance, where I saw Heather’s on tour with two of my friends, just weeks after I’d managed to purchase Hamilton tickets for myself and my mother in the new year. It was then that I realised I had happened across an expensive habit. Since then, I have made four more trips to see shows in London; Hamilton (twice), Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, The Great Gatsby at Gatsby’s Drugstore, Dear Evan Hansen, Six, and most recently Be More Chill – which is the show I’ll be discussing today!

I figured that, I would share some anecdotes about my experiences, because, honestly, I just love to share and remember the fun I had!

SO, Be More Chill!

I bought the tickets for Be More Chill on their presale for a combined gift for a friend’s birthday and Christmas. She, like me, was not as into the show as we had been previous ones, but were intrigued about the show that gained a viral reception in the USA.

Despite us having limited knowledge about the show, both hesitant to read the book until we had seen the show onstage, we were very excited to finally see it, the two of us sharing a favourite song in the form of ‘Michael in the Bathroom’ which was an immensely apt depiction of experiencing anxiety.

When I went to London to see this show, I headed in much earlier than normal in order to visit other places. But, when it finally came to going from The Theatre Café in Leicester Square to The Other Palace, I cannot deny that I was grateful that we left early. Even though I had time to stop at the Costa on Cardinal Place, we struggled to find the theatre, and were dependent on Google Maps, which failed us. What I would recommend doing is exiting Victoria Train Station at Cardinal Place and following the path past Costa and turning left when you reach the main street, and follow the path. That way you won’t find yourself wandering aimlessly around the streets, struggling to navigate the vague instructions from Maps. If you struggle to find it, don’t be proud like us, ask a staff member in one of the stores along Cardinal Place. You won’t be the first, nor will you be the last to struggle to find The Other Palace. It isn’t in the easiest location to find. I would wholeheartedly suggest that you give yourself enough time to get lost.

We were still about thirty minutes early for the show and got to enjoy the bubbly atmosphere, with fans of the show all excited to see what would happen – we spotted fans wearing custom jackets that mirrored Michael’s from the show, and official merchandise.

The show itself was interesting – I went into it blind, and couldn’t deny that it was very clear the pacing was dependant on the intermission, the build-up toward the climax at the first act was much slower than most other shows I had seen. But, as much as it was a tad annoying to be at the edge of my seat, waiting to see something happen that would be detrimental, I really enjoyed the show. The second act was much faster, dramatic and the intermission seemed essential to set the pace for the immediate fallout. Had the show been without an intermission, the sudden shift in pacing would have been immensely jarring.

My favourite things about the show had to be the costuming. Although at the start, the use of colour appears slightly jarring, however, the use of bold, pop-ish colours are dramatic and work well with the use of backgrounds and technical motifs. There are references to classical gaming and coding – I really enjoyed seeing the abject absence of bright green until the finale, where everyone seems to be wearing green except for Michael, who wears red – the colour symbolism between the characters is amazing. I won’t spoil what they mean, but it was very clever.

The Squip’s costumes were fantastic too! I loved every single upgraded outfit and how it seemed that almost every time he came onto the stage, his outfit became more dramatic as he became more prevalent in the story, worming into Jeremy’s life. I found it super clever, and was in awe of the use of texture, patterns and clean-cut whites, silvers, greys and blacks with the Squip’s clothing.

There were some fantastic songs in the mix as well – I loved watching ‘Michael In The Bathroom’ live on stage, but was awed by how exciting The Pitiful Children was on stage. The lighting, choreography and drama really worked for the song. The clean movements were succinct and very dramatic. I really enjoyed it.

I had a great time at Be More Chill! It was unlike most of the musicals I have seen on the West End thus far, but I couldn’t help but fall in love with the intricacy of it.

Be More Chill is playing at The Other Palace theatre in Victoria, and tickets are available for performances until the 14^th June.

Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you get a chance to see this show live! It was so good!

And remember,

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

10/3/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt

Today, 10/3/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #46:

"I swear students like bubbles and glow sticks more than little kids!"

The above quote is one said at Comic Con when I had provided small tubes of bubble mixture. I was hanging out with the same friends whom I had provided glow sticks for at a previous social event, and at New Years' Eve. The bubbles were more of a hit this time around due to the weather, and the fact it was still light outside by the time I had to leave, and thus, bringing glow sticks would have proven redundant. 

My friends all appeared to enjoy the bubbles, especially as we started to drink. It was a lot of fun! 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading!

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

8/3/20 - Song Of The Week Sunday!

Hi guys! I'm back with another Song Of The Week Sunday! The purpose of this segment is to give you guys a quick glimpse into my life and the things I listen to on repeat!

This week’s SOTW is Michael In The Bathroom from Be More Chill.

You can listen to it on Spotfiy here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1L3wn1FJHmnv9OpjVbkMzY

I chose this song as it was my absolute favourite song from the musical. I was fortunate enough to get the chance to watch Be More Chill on 3^rd March. Seeing this song live had me welling up with tears, and I have had it on loop since I left the stage door. I really loved the raw emotion in the lyrics, the song really does depict a panic attack in a catchy and yet easy to access method.

I hope you guys have had an amazing week and continue to do so!

And remember: 

Per Ardua Ad Astra 

- Imogen. L. Smiley

6/3/20 - Favourite Character Praise Friday: Rick Ford

Hello and welcome back to Favourite Character Praise Friday! This is one of my absolute favourite posts to write and I hope you enjoy my picking apart of my favourite characters enough to stick around while I examine my next victim, I mean, character. Don’t worry, I do not rank these characters in a particular order, it just so happens that some characters are better worth sharing praise for at a different point in time to others! Remember, every fifth instalment is Least Favourite Character Praise Friday, so keep an eye out for me probing at characters I can’t stand and raving about how well they were written in order to evoke such a reaction.

So, who is the subject of my next Favourite Character Praise Friday?

Rick Ford from Spy!

Warning: This will contain spoilers!

Spy was a film that I first watched about two years ago and had be crying with laughter for the entire time. As a casual fan of James Bond, and other spy-centric series’ like Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls’ series, watching a film blatantly mock the tropes of such an established type of story, was hysterical.

I really enjoyed watching the film, particularly Ford, acting in an exaggerated caricature of a rogue operative.

The thing I loved most about Ford, was how self-assured he was. Although the film, probably doesn’t do his prowess justice, due to it focusing on Susan Cooper, he is able to infiltrate a variety of different events and institutions throughout the movie, across multiple countries in Europe. His skills in espionage are not to be disputed, although his disguises are not the most desirable. However, unless you’ve watched the film multiple times, the odds of you spotting Ford prior to Susan doing so herself, is immensely low. The only reason I can anticipate where to look for him is because I’ve seen it numerous times. He is well-aware of his abilities as a spy and knows he can use many covers and infiltrate spaces with relative ease: something he points out to Susan when he initially goes rogue and breaks into her hotel.

I love that despite his bravado he does happen to have a clear flaw to him, which is the same trait that makes him so easy to humour – his ego. Ford is very full of himself due to him having done a large volume of successful missions. However, he is clumsy and makes mistakes. The fact that he’s gone rogue has probably influenced this as he can only rely on his own intuition. Ford demonstrates that his reputation is well-placed. He has a great ability to acquire intel' and is relatively inconspicuous, however, his belief that he is incredible does lead him to falling short. He’s tailed by a terrorist in Paris, who switches out his Louis Vuitton backpack for one with a bomb in it. He would have died due to believing that he was at the top of his game as a pavement artist and only survived because Susan stepped in and helped him. However, this makes him a character that is easy to relate to, despite how much of a caricature he is. Everyone has made mistakes when they’ve perceived they’re at the top of their game. Ultimately, it makes him easier to relate to.

The last thing I love is how iconic his comedy is. When it matters most for creating a mood, Ford was usually the butt of the joke, from the moment where the ally is to dramatically appear on the scene, and he gets himself trapped in the door and falls over due to slippery shoes, to when, at the end he claims that “sometimes a man’s got to be at sea” and takes off in a speedboat, on what ends up being a lake, instead of open waters. Ford is one of those characters that can always be relied upon for humour. He tends to be the butt of the joke even when he’s excelling at his job. Susan mocks him at the Casino De Rome, when she attempts to infiltrate the space, and she calls him out for his poor concealment of a weapon. It happens again when she happens upon him at the disco where Rayna Boyanov is due to meet with a buyer for the nuclear bomb. He tends to think big, dramatic and disposable, like the conventional Hollywood spy, and he is an amazing commentary of the archetypical rogue in this instance!

Please, if you have opinions on Rick Ford, feel free to share them with me! Don’t forget you can check out my previous Character Praise by looking through the hashtags below.

And remember!

Per Aruda Ad Astra

5/3/20 - Happy World Book Day!

Hello everyone! Today is one of my favourite days of the year: World Book Day, a chance to celebrate the art of literature, dress up as our favourite characters and praise the craft of words! I am incredibly nostalgic about this event, and look forward to seeing my social media flooded with photos. I can't deny that my favourite character to dress up as was Matilda: Reader of Books from Matilda by Roald Dahl, that was my go-to costume during primary school. Oh if only celebrations of this event were encouraged in Secondary School and college!

But, I'm not here to prattle on about my favourite costumes - no, I'm here to share my all-time favourite children's book. It was the story that inspired a love of literature, and one that I begged my father to read to me almost all the time. The story was Allan Ahlberg's 'The Bravest Ever Bear'!

'The Bravest Ever Bear' came out in 1999, and I still have the beaten up copy of this picture book in my bedroom now, twenty years on! My sister and I loved how my dad would use voices and embrace the surreal humour of this story, that became a household classic - to the point our mother wasn't allowed to read it!

The story follows a bear, who is desperate to have an interesting story, and becomes exasperated by the nature of the simple children's book, and consequently decides to write his own story - a true invitation to embrace the surreal and exciting. I adored hearing about all of the adventures that the bear went on during his, very long day telling his story.

Even now, as a twenty-one year old, I think fondly of 'The Bravest Ever Bear' and in the three moves since my parents purchased the book, I have refused to part with it!

Although the story is old, it is golden, and I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing this funny tale of the misadventures and heroism of The Bravest Ever Bear!

Thank you for reading! Have a great World Book Day!

And remember:

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

3/3/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt

Today, 3/3/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #45:

"My best friend has found a clone of one of our other friends. He's been at her uni with her for three years. She never managed to get a photo of him. She just sent her housemate to try because their last lecture tomorrow and the clone is outside Starbucks."

The above is based upon a genuine experience that myself and my friends had. With myself and the majority of my social circle attending different universities, jotted around the country, we would constantly see faces in our peripheral vision that would instantly make us think of the friends we left in our hometown. Often, we would share the fact we'd seen clones of each other in our group chat. 

This was a more dramatic example, where one of my friends refused to accept the fact that there was another person that looked like him and insisted that we provide a photo in the spirit of "pics or it didn't happen" but social anxiety prevented my friend to turn to this stranger and tell him that she wanted a selfie with him, solely to show a friend that they looked alike. It would just be too weird! 

And thus, she sent the housemate to try and take a sneaky photo... It was apparently too blurry to be identifiable. 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading!

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

25/2/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt

Today, 25/2/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #44:

" I wasn’t ID’ed at the grocery store for all this alcohol because I was dressed up as a character from a 90’s cartoon and the cashier said if I was old enough to know who she was I was definitely old enough to be buying vodka… I’m 19, I just have siblings, dammit!"

The above is a quote from one of my friends, who had joined me on our way to a costume party. In order to be prepared for the events that would be coming during the night, we decided it would be best to buy some alcohol at the local Co-Op. We ended up leaving the shop at different times, me leaving first while she made a decision about whether she wanted to buy vodka and mixers or gin. 

Who needs the No ID No Sale rule when you're dressed like a cartoon from the 1990's? 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading! 

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

21/2/20 - Favourite Character Praise Friday - Misa Amane

 Hello and welcome back to Favourite Character Praise Friday! This is one of my absolute favourite posts to write and I hope you enjoy my picking apart of my favourite characters enough to stick around while I examine my next victim, I mean, character. Don’t worry, I do not rank these characters in a particular order, it just so happens that some characters are better worth sharing praise for at a different point in time to others! Remember, every fifth instalment is Least Favourite Character Praise Friday, so keep an eye out for me probing at characters I can’t stand and raving about how well they were written in order to evoke such a reaction.

So, who is the subject of my next Favourite Character Praise Friday?

Misa Amane from Death Note!

Warning: The following will contain spoilers!

For those who don’t know, or haven’t had a chance to check out my analysis of why I dislike Light Turner from Netflix’s adaptation of Death Note, I’ll give you guys a quick info-dump about why I absolutely adore this show.

I have watched Death Note seven times in the last seven years, since I was introduced to it. Every single time I’ve revisited the show I have come across something new and interesting, and a completely new level of storytelling. I absolutely adore all of the characters, regardless of where they stand on the scale of “Kira is Justice” and “Kira is an over-glorified serial killer that needs to be stopped”. My absolute favourite of all the characters, however, is Misa Amane, aka The Second Kira.

She is a character that I immediately gravitated toward. Fifteen-year-old Imogen loved her just as much as I do now. She always struck me as a clever and sharp girl who was utterly devoted to the cause she served. She is one of those characters that I have never found myself disliking, even when the general consensus was that she was annoying.

I have many reasons for adoring her, including her character design and aesthetic, the way she is portrayed exceptionally well by every voice actor that has taken on the role, which I have seen, at least, to even how well she fits into the series.

But these are, arguably superficial means to like a character to the extent that I do. So, like with all of my other favourites thus far, I have dissected the reasons and I am presenting them to you now, for your reading pleasure.

She is actually immensely intelligent. The reason that she decides to follow Light is because she agrees with him and believes that he is right, and thus became subservient in order to assist him. She was his greatest ally. This was demonstrated by the fact that when Light lay dying in the warehouse, he called for her, begging for her to help him, even though she was nowhere near him. She showed off her intellect by orchestrating a rouse where she was able to take out several police officers indiscriminately and make a very strong statement to attract Kira’s attention. She was always aware of the consequences of her actions and was willing to go to any lengths to prove that she had no intention to harm Light. This was a very good method of showing compliance, whether motivated by emotion or methodical planning. By immediately saying that she would let him hold onto her note, she showed him a fierce level of trust, whilst also showing she was willing to help him. This was further exemplified by the fact she was willing to use her friend, who acted as a pasty, preparing the tapes she would end up recording Kira videos on, to her demise without hesitation demonstrated a cool and relentless resolve. Like Light, she was willing to use people that could be classed as disposable as pawns to do her bidding while she pulled the strings.

She is very selfless. It is demonstrated throughout the series, that when motivated to do so, Misa will not hesitate to do anything for a person if she feels strongly enough about them. When she was without her memories of her time as The Second Kira, she went out of her way to assist L and Light in catching Higuchi, the man working under the name of Kira. She took advantage of her status in the idol and acting industry, and the shortcomings of Touta Matsuda ((whom I will praise respectively at a later date!)) in order to manipulate him into confessing. She takes advantage of being allowed her memories to return briefly and retaining as much knowledge as she could from Rem, the Shinigami who first assisted her as The Second Kira, to help the investigation and subsequently return Light’s memories to him. Whenever she was acting as Kira, she was quick to do what she could for Light, solicited or not. She, aware that she had been blessed by Gelus, the Shinigami that died saving her, with an extended lifespan, was happy to half it to assist Light in killing criminals and becoming the God of the new world. She knew that she could have died that day and lived her life, grateful; to Gelus, to Rem, and to Light.

Her exuberance makes her an endearing character. Watching her interact with the stoic Light and the awkward L is entertaining as a viewer. There is a fascinating aspect of seeing the trio, two without their memories of being Kira, bounce off one another. L, despite his suspicions of her, grows fond of Misa, as do several other members of the Japanese Task Force, Matsuda and Mogi to name a few, both after spending extended periods of time in her company. She is a character that knows that people will love her, and doesn’t hesitate to flaunt that trait to the benefit of Light. Her likeable cheerful persona makes her a quick hit with both Sachiko and Sayu Yagami, and eventually, Light’s father warms up to her too. This is demonstrated by the fact that they are all so comfortable together post-timeskip, when in the Yagami household. Misa was always respectable, despite Light making out that his, once fictional, girlfriend had slept with him several times before Misa made herself known to him. Regardless of their inevitable first impressions that the pretty goth at their door was the girl who had slept with Light, they couldn’t help but find her politeness and cheeriness. It also made her a character that was easy to underestimate, whether or not she had her memories at the time. When Mello and Matt are observing her as she was once believed to be The Second Kira, Mello remarks that she is just a stupid woman, demonstrated by her dedication to Light, to whom she would soon become engaged.

Misa is a character that both fans and characters alike, underestimate immensely throughout the series - Light included. She is one of my favourites due to the fact that, despite being so devoted to Light she had the power to make immense change. It was after the rise of The Second Kira that more and more people started to fall in-line with Light’s ideals. She was able to manipulate Higuchi into confessing as she knew he was attracted to her, and wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with her. She is quick and adaptable, and had she not been a Kira supporter, could have been a better adversary than L because of her refusal to take prisoners. She makes that clear from the moment she proposes she pretend to be his girlfriend at the start of the show, she will kill anyone that she sees associating with him romantically.

Please, if you have opinions on Misa Amane, feel free to share them with me! Don’t forget you can check out my previous Character Praise by looking through the hashtags below.

And remember!

Per Aruda Ad Astra

18/2/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompt

Today, 18/2/20 is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #43:

"Our table isn’t big enough for all of this alcohol. Hold my cider, I’ll grab the ironing board."

      "Oh my god the boy’s a genius!" 

The above was something which happened to take place at a friend's birthday party. Due to us deciding to hold a party for almost twenty people in a space only designed for four people, we ended up very much over capacity. Therefore, we had to improvise when attempting to make enough space for all of us to have our alcohol out, as it was getting spilt by us all holding it. My friend, Matt, managed to come up with the clever idea of producing an ironing board from behind the sofa and setting it up so we could use that to hold all of the bottles of vodka our party had accumulated. 

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading! 

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

11/2/20 - Happy Tuesday! University Inspired Writing Prompts!

Today, 11/2/20, is the next instalment of University Inspired Writing Prompts. Since my first year at university, I have been compiling a collection of writing prompts inspired by my time studying in Derby. I hope that these prompts help you create your own works!

All of these prompts are dialogue based, and are inspired by real conversations I have been part of whilst at university.

PROMPT #42:

"Guess who used OTP fanart as a bookmark for a library book and returned it to university yesterday!"

The above is a genuine plight that I had. When I was in my final year at university, I had been struggling to multitask doing all of the required reading for my dissertation. I ended up having a frantic day, after maxing out the amount of time I could renew a library loan online, where I was skim reading as much reading as I could in one go, using anything I could as a bookmark. This included receipts, scrap paper, a notebook, a sheet of stickers, an old envelope which had had a parcel in it, and surprisingly, a piece of fanart of my OTP that I had purchased at comic con. 

Due to feeling poorly, I was unable to return the books to uni directly, and instead, tasked my housemate, and friend to do so for me. She noticed a protruding receipt from one book, but not the lilac background of the art, and I ended up realising that the drawing was missing and had to rush to university the next day and retrieve the book from the shelf, art in tow, and smuggle the drawing out of the library without anyone noticing. 

To say my friends and I were amused by my predicament would have been an understatement!

I hope that this prompt inspired something, even if it was just a smile! Feel free to check out my previous prompts by looking through the hashtags below! 

Thank you so much for reading! 

And remember! 

Per Ardua Ad Astra!

- Imogen. L. Smiley

7/2/20 - Favourite Character Praise Friday WITH A TWIST: Ross Geller

Hello everyone! As today is the tenth instalment of Favourite Character Praise Friday since the conclusion of my hiatus, today is the next of many LEAST Favourite Character Praise Fridays. For those that are unfamiliar with me and my content, every ten weeks / five instalments of Favourite Character Praise Friday, I will diverge from my standard practice, where I pick apart my favourite characters and the ones I adore more than anything, so I can challenge myself and explore why the characters I loathe are also brilliant. You can always learn a lot from the characters you hate because they tend to be hated for a reason, and just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean that they’re not somebody else’s favourite character too. Despite finding it much harder to see the good in characters I hate, it is a lot of fun to pick a character apart.

So, who am I picking apart today?

A rather controversial character to dislike – Ross Geller from Friends, The TV Show!

Warning, the following will contains spoilers from all ten seasons of Friends!

Now, a disclaimer before I begin. Friends is a show that has been a part of my life since I was quite young. I remember watching it when I was like nine because it was on TV. I always really enjoyed watching it, and it was something I could just unwind and relax, watching, and let all of time just slip past me.

When I was fifteen, I was gifted with all ten seasons on DVD and I remember, when we moved house, the following week, we spent every waking moment of the day, watching friends on the TV. We burned through ten seasons in three weeks and were left, unsure of what to do with our lives in hindsight.

I have been watching it on-off, sometimes because it is the only thing on the TV that I’ll happily have on in the background. When compared to most other daytime TV shows, knowing there’s always the welcome comfort of Friends on hand was reassuring.

Even now, it occasionally goes on in the background, to provide a soundtrack to my day. It’s a familiar comfort when you live with anxiety, knowing that there’ll be a welcome distraction available if you just change the channel.

I’ll be the first to admit that, with all of this in mind, I probably do sound like slightly more than a casual fan. But I am the first to say that my interest in it has slowly fizzled out, just because I know what’s going to happen in every other episode, thanks to my childhood and early-teen years being fixated with these people and their amazing lives, and seeing how it all unfolds relatively easily for each of the characters.

So, before I start laying into Ross, in particular, I would like to acknowledge something. Because I have had similar discussions at university and it always seems to be brought up as a counter-argument:

Something that is really important is that character development is done subtly. This means that a casual viewer, that is watching the show our of order would still be able to recognise the character from its core traits. With Friends, considering how long the series has run, it would be impossible to completely stagnate the way the characters behave and interact, otherwise there is no way that the show would have been as successful and have run for so long, still being loved for twenty five years after its initial debut.

Character development in Friends was done through looking at parts of the characters and their relationships that would make sense to be stretched out. For example, the Ross and Rachel back and forth which took place consistently throughout the seasons, as well as how Monica and Chandler ended up in a relationship. The way that Chandler felt about Monica was discussed at as early as season three, where he began to make declarations that he would be her boyfriend if nobody else would. However, there were hints that they were quite close friends from the start of the show considering the way they interacted. Most of their banter toward the start consisted of jabs and jibes about their former relationships, particularly when they were single. There is always a small glimpser that there was a bit of romantic tension between them, and thus, at the end of season four, when Chandler and Monica sleep together, and any subsequent episode, you can see that their dynamic hasn’t changed too much, even though they are now in a romantic relationship. They still make comments about people they find attractive, even in the other’s company.

In short, sitcoms can’t have dramatic character development for the reason that they don’t want to detract the casual viewer from coming back to the show when they can, because the characters are so different.

This does, influence my perception of Ross’ character. It’s easy enough to criticise the way he is due to his lack of a capacity to change his behaviour, but if he was able to change that drastically, then it could impair the viewership. Changes with Ross, or any of the characters, were usually short-lived and took place within the space of one episode. Like when Ross made a New Year’s Resolution to do a new thing every day, and ended up changing up his image by buying a pair of leather pants. The same way that Chandler and Ross make a fifty-dollar-bet that he can’t go a without insulting his friends.

But, let’s get to the analysis.

Let’s start with why I dislike Ross. There are reasons why he’s in this segment instead of its partner.

I feel like Ross was one of those characters that could have been fantastic. You can see from the way he is quick to jump into new relationships that he struggles to validate himself, and, in a sense, does need someone there to reassure him that he’s on the right track, or doing the right thing. This is demonstrated from the get go in the immediate response to his marital breakdown with Carol. He expresses in Season One, that he felt that everything was okay, and that finding out that she didn’t agree and she couldn’t stay married to him was devastating. He couldn’t necessarily fault her in the sense of not wanting to try and make things work, which probably made things worse for him; after all she was cheating on him, and was in love with “the other woman”, Susan. After that point, he is struggles to pick himself back up. This is understandable, but for the sake of plot progression he quickly ends up fixating on the romantic feelings he once had for Rachel, who suddenly came back into his life. He let those emotions take over and when he eventually ended up with Rachel, he seemed a lot more stable in himself. Had the “we were on a break” thing not happened, I reckon that they would have stayed together for much longer. After all, Ross and Rachel’s relationship was incredibly strong at the start – with their arguments being real and easy to access as a consumer. However, TV drama and tension requires exaggerated reactions every once in a while, and thus the Ross and Rachel saga begins, from Season Three up until the Series Finale in Season Ten, they are constantly in a back and forth, trying to best each other, whilst not coping with their issues. The trait that is basically to his detriment is that desperation for validation that lead him to cheat on Rachel with the girl from the Copy Shop.

Another reason I dislike him is due to his character being presented as a serial monogamist, instead of his issues being handled properly. His divorce lawyer even makes quips about Ross being so quick to marry. It is shown in several instances that he has issues with commitment. He enjoys being married, he enjoyed the comfort and security of that relationship and has since ended up trapped in a cycle of it always being too soon, in one way, shape or form. When he married Emily, he hadn’t sorted out his issues with Rachel and ended up saying the wrong name at the altar. He ruins the opportunity to go onward and enjoy a happy life with her, because of this mistake and it is repeated several times for dramatic and comedic effects. Ross was still hung up on his breakup with Rachel when he got in a relationship with Emily and in his whirlwind romance, didn’t think of the consequences until Rachel was right there at his wedding, all of a sudden. Then, the second time he got married in the show, it was under even more dramatic circumstances. He and Rachel, his on-off romantic interest for several seasons got drunk in Las Vegas and ended up getting married. Ross is shown in many relationships between these marriages, never really taking time to enjoy life as a bachelor. Instead, he fixates on this blissful life he once had, that he once enjoyed and constantly strives to achieve it again. His fatal flaw is being so quick to commit to relationships and immediately wanting to spend his life with people, instead of giving himself the opportunity to adjust to the breakdown of one relationship. This wouldn’t be a problem, so to say, if his character wasn’t as fixated on commitment as he is. In short, instead of the sitcom focusing on the deeper problems, that could have still been poked fun at, Ross is just made out to be obsessed with marriage.

The last reason that makes me dislike Ross as a character is the way that he refuses to acknowledge his own hypocrisy. During Season Eight, when, after a one-night-stand, Rachel falls pregnant with Ross’ child. During her pregnancy, Ross resents Rachel for still having a romantic life, going to the lengths of hiding messages he took for her. Even though they didn’t discuss re-establishing their romantic relationship. However, during that period, Ross feels perfectly comfortable to start dating Mona for an extended period, during which, he neglects her own boundaries and constantly leaves her waiting for him when he won’t show up. Yet she is never shown to do the same thing back. Worst of all, in that period, he allowed Rachel to move in with him without telling her. Dishonesty, is a common trait of Ross’ character, where he will lie in order to deflect the severity of the situation he has found himself in. The fact that he never actively takes responsibility for the things he does is a negative character trait which is hard to find endearing as a viewer.

Of course, Ross, like all of the other characters, has reasons to be liked: he is diligent in the pursuit of his career, passionate enough about palaeontology to end up as a tenured professor at NYU, a distinguished position, despite his shortcoming in his role, like dating a student and not failing students because they claimed to be in love with him, he clearly did a good job and was very knowledgeable.

There are many things that I would love to discuss here about Ross, particularly with his issues. If I do end up making follow up posts, do expect to see them linked at the foot of this post!

Please, if you have opinions on Ross Geller, feel free to share them with me! Don’t forget you can check out my previous Character Praise by looking through the hashtags below.

And remember!

Per Aruda Ad Astra!

6/2/20 - Imogen's A Nerd: Death Note Oneshot Review

Today I will be discussing the new instalment of Death Note, produced as a oneshot set after the canon story of Kira and L. It is available to read online via Viz Media’s website!

Warning. This will contain SPOILERS for both Death Note and the new Death Note Oneshot.

There is a lot to unpack in such a short space of time, but to get started, I would like to talk a bit about some of the characters. The first would have to be our new protagonist – Minoru Tanaka. He is shown to be an intelligent High-School aged boy, that is reserved and does not have many friends. He is presented with the Death Note, a notebook used by Light Yagami to act as Kira, God of The New World.

He refuses the notebook from Ryuk and instead bargains that he should come back in two years, which Ryuk obliges. When Minoru receives the Death Note, he is confident he has conjured up the perfect plan to utilise it.

The majority of the story from that point onwards focusses on how the young man executed his plan, auctioning off the Death Note without being detected by the Japanese Police, which appeared to be headed by Aizawa, a character from the original story, with Matsuda a loyal underling. – I intend to discuss their roles in the story later!

One of the criticisms that I have seen online was how Minoru did not compare to Light. And that was clear from the get-go. This story was a oneshot, and would only exist for the equivalent of one volume. Light’s story extended for a significantly longer period. He consequently had an drastically different series of opportunities to develop as a character.

It was clear from the get-go that the two boys would not be the same – Ryuk believed that Minoru would be a substantial candidate due to him having the highest scores, however, he misunderstood an IQ test not being synonymous with the academic performance league tables. This meant that Light was a boy who knew of his smarts, applied himself and honed his skills, while Minoru had the intelligence, but was struggling in school. With that in mind, most of his character development occurred between the lines during the two-year period between his first and second meeting with Ryuk.

I believe that Minoru was a very bright and smart protagonist, he took on a completely different perspective to how to handle the power that had once belonged to Light. Which could have easily been a nod to consumerism and the popularity of the manga and the show’s merchandising, including Death Notes with the names of characters that were murdered in them. It was a refreshing take and I really enjoyed seeing him handle the obstacles that fell into his way.

The next thing I would like to discuss was the minor roles of Aizawa and Matsuda, two of the six original members of the Japanese Police Force that worked with L and Watari to catch Kira. Considering that two of the original policemen died during the original story, seeing two of the remaining characters still participating in active-duty roles after the conclusion of the story provided plenty of insight.

Aizawa was older than his underling, Matsuda, and the fact that he is yet to retire serves to act as a dating feature of the story. The two men also provided an aspect of insight about what the immediate responses were to Minoru’s attempt to sell the Death Note.

They also helped to enhance the story, as they were two of the few remaining humans alive that would have been able to recognise the face of Ryuk when he appeared on television. Their presence would have made fans of the original happy, especially as Matsuda can act as comic relief, but also furthered the plot tenfold.

Then there was Near, who was now going under the initial L, having replaced Light acting in his rightful role as the detective’s named successor. He was present for several reasons, to give a clearer picture of how much time had passed, and to add that element of chase back to the story.

Near was initially depicted to be approximately thirteen in the original story. He is significantly older, thus demonstrated by the growth of his hair, and his increased height, although he still latches onto the element of his character that made him so endearing originally – toys. His childlike quality to outlook on things was refreshing when compared to the harsh and blunt perspective that his predecessor, L had had.

It also added the opportunity to provide nods to the original story in the form of the rubber Kira figurine that had been used in the final confrontation between Near and Light.

The chase, however, left many readers on social media frustrated, something I would like to dig into: Near is aware of Ryuk’s presence as he was able to see him. He immediately realised there could be a means to track down Minoru Tanaka and began looking into creating a Shinigami Facial Recognition Device, which would have been immensely effective due to how Ryuk needs to remain relatively close to his Death Note at all times.

However, Minoru seems to have thought about the heightened surveillance which would have derived from the fall of Kira. He consequently manages to do what Light could never do, outsmart L. This is because Light got caught up in his own tragic flaw, his narcissism and God-Complex. Minoru, however, had nothing to lose, and thus was able to think clearly about what he could do to benefit from the Death Note.

The next thing I would like to touch on is how much character development we got from Ryuk. It might not have seemed like a lot had changed about him, but he had clearly changed since having met Light. There was a level of immense fondness that the Shinigami had for his previous companion, demonstrated by the fact that he asked after his legacy when Minoru mentioned Kira. Ryuk was quick to engage that topic of conversation, intrigued to know what had become of the world his companion had forged. He appeared somewhat saddened by the development that children were taught about the efforts of Kira in a negative vein, as Light had intended to be feared and revered.

This was further validated at the end of the story, where Ryuk writes Minoru’s name in his Death Note, revealing it was on the same page as Light’s when years had passed since Kira’s fall. He had obviously killed numerous humans after Light’s death, but had kept his page blank. This was likely out of fondness or respect.

Now, the next thing I would like to discuss is the commentary provided by the writers and artists. The most prevalent being the auctioning of the Death Note. Minoru sells the Death Note online, using Ryuk and his invisibility to his advantage. In doing so the trend starts with people on social media and it eventually results in world leaders publicly calling press-conferences to make sure this new person with Kira’s power knew of the money they were willing to spend.

The President of the United States ends up winning this auction, but due to a new rule, imposed by the Shinigami King, he is made aware that if he accepted the note, he would die, just as the person who instigated the transaction upon receipt of their funds. This meant that the President, who bears a striking resemblance to the current president, implying that this story is set in 2020 if not later, had the option to refuse the notebook, or take it, only to die. He declared he would not accept the Death Note, in fear of his life. Minoru, however, had been none the wiser and died, despite his efforts to distribute America’s wealth to the Japanese public, boost their economy and help the masses.

It seemed ironic that the Kira that would have the greater influence was one who did not use the Death Note to kill. An irony, which was beautifully apt for the context and content.

I loved this oneshot and believe that anyone, whether they have engaged in the original material or not, should give the story a chance, it gives a really interesting outlook on the way that morals work. I will happily purchase a physical copy of this volume, should it be released. I loved every moment of reading it!