sunkisser | march - june 2023 media round-up

it's been so long the last time I posted one of these x was still fucking twitter... still calling it twitter btw fuck elon musk but anyway for my own sake here goes everything I've consumed in the past 4 months lol

all this also made me realize I did consume quite a lot of stuff during july so I'll be making a diff post for that.. sos what have I gotten myself into

💬

march

🎞 movies

total movies watched: 1

mar. 2023 movies
ranked

1. jujutsu kaisen 0 (2021) ★★★★☆

icb it took me this long to watch this…. it was good tho like by default i think everything to do with jjk is good but i genuinely enjoyed this one despite knowing nothing abt the characters and the fact that it left me with more questions than answers but it's fine ig I'll read the manga eventually. also the soundtrack and the editing were absolutely fucking insane like… the way they played with it during the fight scenes was killer

📚 books

once again there was no reading done this month except for this one article lol.. this the second time I've read one of these hola papi articles but they've been good so far?? especially this one, it says some of the stuff I've been thinking about fandom writing spaces for the longest time too TT the puriteen culture surrounding fic spaces and the ethics around rpf etc etc makes everything just so much more exhausting and tiresome to create that i think it's part of why I've distanced myself so much from "community" and why I've gotten so much stage fright when it comes to posting. anyway this is a really great read if you're also struggling to verbalize all of these thoughts lol

🎜 music

621 scrobbles, 20 daily avg
57 artists | 129 albums | 257 tracks

TOP ARTISTS:

1. ateez (87)
2. stray kids (79)
3. fall out boy (75)
4. taylor swift (63)
5. twice (57)
6. btob (35)
7. tomorrow x together (28)
8. nct dream (24)
9. nmixx (21)
10. troye sivan (21)

TOP ALBUMS:

1. so much for stardust by fob (67)
2. skz2020 by skz (67)
3. ready to be by twice (57)
4. expérgo by nmixx (21)
5. blue neighbourhood (deluxe) by troye sivan (21)
6. blooming days by exo-cbx (20)
7. best friend ever by nct dream (18)
8. the world ep. 1: movement by ateez (16)
9. midnights by taylor swift (16)
10. the name chapter: temptation by txt (16)

TOP TRACKS:

1. blooming days by exo-cbx (20)
2. best friend ever by nct dream (18)
3. crazy stupid love by twice (17)
4. halazia by ateez (15)
5. you're on your own, kid by taylor swift (13)
6. set me free by twice (12)
7. love from the other side by fall out boy (9)
8. pray (I'll be your man) by btob (8)
9. so much (for) stardust by fob (8)
10. young, dumb, stupid by nmixx (8)

it's crazy looking back on these stats bc what was I doung listening to BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD DELUXE on the year of our lord 2023... I was really going through something...

aside from that there's really not much to say T__T my immediately pre-lawsuit re-obsession with cbx was sparked by the yeosang xiaojun blooming days cover my beloved... an actual masterpiece if I may...

Watch on YouTube

aside from that best friend ever was sooo good but I was so occupied with other stuff (cough)boysplanetateez(cough) to really get into it until a few months later. and I had a little btob moment there too because I was rewatching some kingdom stuff for ateez and they really captured me again they've always been my beloveds and their music is Just to my taste (<-- balladfucker69)

as for nmixx ummm their album was actually quite good and I loved their title sooo much. and young, dumb, stupid is extacly the stuff that tickles my brain (czennie) (derogatory) though I had some gripes with their second comeback this year it just wasn't as good. the girls are so talented but jyp definitely set them up it's not that party o'clock was bad or anything but they were finally getting somewhere with the mixxpop and then they just ABANDONED IT.. what happened to the originality to the FUN.. ik I was an O.O hater but dice rehabilitated me what happened to THAT. anywya it made me salty and not really enjoy their comeback as much T__T

🎤 k-pop

finally watched some nct dream interviews!
continued wanteez
went through a crazy episode and watched every single kingdom stage even though I dnfed the show after the first round while it was airing. as expected some stages did not get better with age however some still slap. final thoughts are also btob did such a good fucking job like every other group has a very different performance and even music style to them but they still delivered every fucking performance
watched this txt album behind and I was actually pretty surprised about how candid and honest they were about not liking some songs on the album and how they kept that in the video?? and also about them talking so casually and openly about the line distribution too I was not expecting that but it was kinda nice TT also a little funny considering the neos’ initial reaction to sticker and how they wouldn’t open their mouth abt the subject anyway or at least not until long after promos LMAO anyway I watched this mostly for the dp bits because they’re always my fav but seeing them talk about the tracks and the recording process was actually quite nice too!!

💬
april

🎞 movies
total movies watched: 7
6 new, 1 rewatch

apr. 2023 movies
ranked

1. shin ultraman (2022) ★★★★★
2. batman: under the red hood (2010) ★★☆☆☆
3. fyre: the greatest party that never happened (2019) ★★★★★
4. the boy who harnessed the wind (2019) ★★★★★
5. the family stone (2005) ★★★★☆
6. do revenge (2022) ★★★★☆
7. just go with it (2011) ★★★☆☆ ↻

I watched shin ultraman basically to appease my brother and to make him happy bc he wanted to share his interests with me but why was this movie actually so fucking good??? coming from someone who knows literally nothing about ultraman and whose closest mildly adjacent interest is mecha I thought I'd come out of this feeling like ok this is fine it was fun whatever but I was genuinely mind blown like??? it had it all it had the plot, the giant space monsters, THE TENSION-FILLED ROMANTIC SUBPLOT EVEN??? I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT but was so extremely pleased like it seriously delivered. I haven't seen the og ultraman but I Have watched some toku before and I think the best part of this is the way it took itself soooooo seriously but still kept they toku charm down to the mildly better but still pretty terrible cgi and the weird uncalled for character gimmicks (I love u asami and ur ass slapping tendencies just like me fr). also the camera angles were crazy each shot got more inconvenient and fun than the last and I was LIVING for that shit genuinely had an extreme enjoyment of this movie all throughout like I was HOOKED hooked. opened an ao3 tab (to 16 FUCKING FICS ONLY T__T AND THEY'RE MOSTLY IN MANDARIN TOO) as soon as the movie was over that's how we know we're in for the long run

then there's batman: under the red hood (2010). it was a batman movie alright. seeing as it's one of the most key events to batman lore I would've thought they'd take extra care but something abt it was just so off?? like the joker wasn't jokering and dick definitely wasn't dicking TAT the comments just weren't hitting and when the dialogue finally got good the voice actors just kinda ruined it for me like whyyyy did they think those were good voice choices for jason and dick it wasn't giving what it needed to give. I did suffer it anyway like jason's story will never not make me bawl that's my meow meow and I will always support his rights but more importantly his wrongs

then I watched both fyre and the boy who harnessed the wind for class. fyre was actually really interesting. firstly because I love it when rich people fail and this docu was full of it so I had a good laugh. and secondly because I really did have a very entertainingly perplexing time trying to figure out just what this guy was trying to achieve with all the shit he pulled like I really couldn't find rhyme nor reason to 90% of his decisiones even from a pov of strictly personal profit but ig that's the human psyche for u…. if you're interested in project management and stuff of the sort this is a big recommendation bc it really is like a guidebook on what exactly not to do lol. and then the boy who harnessed the wind was such an emotional movie I couldn't help myself and cried through the last 20mins but it was such a moving story and it did hit really close to home at times as well. I'm really glad I got to watch for class, I don't think I would've searched it up on my own but it was really, really worth the watch. I loved the way it was constructed too, it definitely added to the overall emotionality

I watched the family stone while I was very sad and it was a great pick me up tbh it was the perfect mix of sad and happy to make me cry and laugh at the same time + it was very entertaining. in terms of story it could've been better ig but that was def not the reason I was watching in the first place so I didn't mind at all lol

I thought do revenge would be just a silly goofy movie to pass the time but why was it actually good… like not exorbitant never seen before mind blowing good but I would genuinely watch it again like it's giving everything mean girls highschool drama movies are lacking these days it's a slay

and then to finish off the month I caught just go with it on the tv and why is it lowkey the only adam sandler adult comedy ever (and I have to say adult bc bedtime stories exists). my comfort adam sandler movie if you will.

🎜 music
1,021 scrobbles, 34 daily avg
75 artists | 156 albums | 327 tracks

TOP ARTISTS:

1. ive (154)
2. nct dojaejung (82)
3. seventeen (73)
4. ateez (69)
5. waveform* (63)
6. nct dream (41)
7. mark (40)
8. wet leg (39)
9. hans zimmer (32)
10. kep1er (31)

TOP ALBUMS:

1. i've ive by ive (153)
2. perfume by nct djj (82)
3. fml by seventeen (66)
4. sm station: nct lab - golden hour by mark (39)
5. boys planet -artist battle by boys planet (38)
6. interstellar: original motion picture soundtrack by hans zimmer (31)
7. blovestruck! by kep1er (31)
8. true beauty (original television soundtrack), pt. 7 by hyojin (24)
9. wet leg by wet leg (24)
10. so much (for) stardust by fall out boy (20)

TOP TRACKS:

1. golden hour by mark (39)
2. i am by ive (27)
3. supercharger by nintysix (36)
4. shine with me by ive (25)
5. before today is over by hyojin (24)
6. perfume by nct djj (24)
7. heroine by ive (20)
8. hold on tight by aespa (19)
9. blue blood by ive (19)
10. i don't understand but i love u by seventeen (19)

once again what was I going through... the jump in stats was genuinely insane actually I was really drowning some demons. but anyway on to the actual music what can I say mark never misses and golden hour was a certified slay

THE IVE ALBUM THO.. idk what possesed me to stream it like that but it was genuinely really good from the title to the b-sides I enjoyed it through and through.. excpet for kistch sorry I really could never get into it. but even though I listened to i am more shine with me was definitely my favorite. a banger ballad

I have no explanation for supercharger ummm she was simply the best artist battle song. haruto was the only trainee with VISION.. they really did make it work in the end tho <3 very, very dear song and unit to me <3

abt the rest well.. idk what they laced hold on tight and before today is over with but they're soooo addictive I had to keep looping both songs bc I couldn't get them out of my head.. even though I'm a little late to the true beauty ost idek where I first heard it bc I haven't watched the drama lol but it's insanely good actually

as for perfume.. she's perfect. nothing else to say about it tbh just every song on that album is a masterpiece and doyoung, jaehyun and jungwoo's vocals complement each other's perfectly.. and the svt album was GOOD too.. excpet for the hhu song I'm sorry their songs just haven't hit the same to me for a while... and I didn't really like songogong on release either but it's grown soooo much on me lmao I definitely get it now <3

this month I also discovered waveform* and wetleg my beloveds <3 the grip kpop has on me kinda makes it less evident but I loooove them and had a blast listening to them and discovering their music and style. they're very different sound-wise but both exactlyyy my style. might have to do a non-kpop song rec sometime lol..

🎤 k-pop
- randomly watched I Guess Who⁉ ft. Kim Wooseok and I've never heard this guy's solo stuff before but he was so funny I had to watch it through and then he said he's close with jongho help????? atinysm doesn't let me go for a second… but anyway he was charming and cute I'll have to check his stuff out now (spoiler: I haven't done it yet lol)
- got to watch blackpink's coachella set and it was actually INSANE like I got goosebumps, teared up, the whole nine yards sometimes they're so inactive I forget how much I love my girls but I just really do T__T they deserve the worlddddd and I'm always overjoyed to see them succeed
- watched salary lupin also! I Definitely get why ppl want a second season now bc this really was sooooo fun sjdhs all the activities were so nice and catered to them and these guys are all just so adorable help.. plus the office concept suited them so well.. always here for maknae on top jongho. in the last ep it really struck me how ateez are so nice and sweet equally distributing the prize money and coming back to film the ending with yeosang the neos would've played rps and then fought for the money with the winner anyway and left the last man standing to rot and do the closing shot TAT but obligatory dynamic analysis/comparison aside this was definitely entertaining sometimes I struggle through these kinds of shows but this one left me wanting some more content (especially more mingi.. bring it back so he can be on s2 T__T)
💬
may

🎞 movies
total movies watched: 2
1 new, 1 rewatch

may. 2023 movies
ranked

1. no (2012) ★★★★★
2. the polar express (2004) ★★★★★ ↻

I’m absolutely obsessed with the way no was filmed. like seriously what a masterpiece T__T and the way they frame the story is soooo good I did not expect to love this so much but it was so perfectly done like even down to the sound mixing omg this was wonderful. and the story is so interesting from a communication standpoint, esp coming from a country going through a similar situation there is much to think about. no thoughts head empty just this was soo good, v similar to argentina 1987 in the way it interposes seriousness and humor as well. latin american cinema just hits different man

as for the polar express idk why I was watching it in MAY of all things but it was the only good thing on TV at the time I think…. anyway it's a good movie I've loved it always

📺 shows
total shows watched: 1

(source)

xo, kitty (2023) ★★☆☆☆
trash tv that can be binged in a single day without a single thought in mind is so healing etc etc… tho I have to admit that the relationships gave me a headache sometimes but then I remembered they're supposed to be freshmen in highschool and it passed but only a little.. bc what was the necessity to have a love square of sorts in there omg I didn't even know who to root for bc they were all so dramatic and horrible liars like someone pls check on those kids hello… i know lara jean was a bit of a chronic liar too but kitty does take the cake although the gay awakening and following crises did make up for it a little. and also the kitty/q friendship and minho and yuri as characters. and that's it I think. however the headache was not as bad as the one the SOUND MIXING gave me… I get it that they’re trying to mix the american and the korean drama styles and they absolutely nailed it with the editing but why was the sound mixing so awful even for the dialogues sometimes like why could I tell what was recorded on set and what was recorded in studio omg… not the mention the 10000 kpop songs in one minute during the first few episodes like can we choose one… and try to make it fit the mood at least… tho I think it greatly improved toward the last eps + they really did choose absolute kpop bangers.

📚 books
FINALLY A READ!! the only one of the year but we tried for sure

bridge to terabithia by katherine paterson ★★★★☆
genuinely can't believe it's taken me this long to finish a book this year seriously T__T my goal was the most low effort one ever and idk if I'm really gonna reach it lol but aside from my absolute disappointment and the lack of peace of mind I've had to read lately I'm glad I got to read this book at least… I didn't get it at first ngl I was like well this is a middle grade book alright but the end really does it… and it puts the entire book into an entirely new perspective… not that I didn't see all the important arcs before but the ending sort of elevates them if that makes sense? I finished it in public and had to fight so fawking hard not to cry seriously. jesse's character arc really hit close to home and the bit abt grief and the way his relationships change because of it was also just so beautiful and not something I've seen often I guess?? in children's literature at least lol I never read anything like this in school, all my english readings were a bit more sanitized. I think because I read it within such a large time frame (like three months at least SOS) it's even harder to put all my thoughts about it in place and I kinda regret it because I feel it would've been more impactful as a quick read but I still don't regret getting into it, it was beautiful

also started reading this is how you lose the time war but have indeed not opened it since may LMAO.. I was interested in reading this BEFORE it blew up on twitter but I won't lie and say bigolas dickolas didn't give me that final push to actually start reading this

also read the final buzzfeed article and there's so much genuinely good stuff here about all the important reports that buzzfeed made but all I can think about now that I'm done is now they've really never made a sound financial decision ever

🎜 music
807 scrobbles, 26 daily avg
46 artists | 90 albums | 228 tracks

TOP ARTISTS:

1. lesserafim (150)
2. itzy 136 (82)
3. aespa (107)
4. nct u (90)
5. fall out boy (44)
6. seventeen (29)
7. ateez (21)
8. nct dojaejung (21)
9. mark (18)
10. boys planet (16)

TOP ALBUMS:

1. unforgiven by lesserafim (150)
2. my world by aespa (87)
3. universe by nct (66)
4. ressonance, pt. 2 by nct (50)
5. so much (for) stardust by fob (44)
6. fml by seventeen (29)
7. crazy in love by itzy (27)
8. cheshire by itzy (22)
9. perfume by nct djj (21)
10. guess who by itzy (19)

TOP TRACKS:

1. fearnot (between you, me and the lamppost) by lesserafim (48)
2. welcome to MY world (ft. naevis) by aespa (30)
3. fire in the belly by lesserafim (28)
4. unforgiven (ft. nile rodgers) by lesserafim (27)
5. I'm unhappy by aespa (24)
6. spicy by aespa (20)
7. jelly pop by boys planet (14)
8. angels like you by miley cyrus (13)
9. thirsty by aespa (12)
10. salty & sweet by aespa (11)

umm once again girls <3 4th gen girls are definitely not allergic to SERVING ! and we love them for that. fearnot was kinf=d of an obvious shoe-in for me bc who am I if not a BALLADFUCKER and my girls lesserafim delivered ! I saw some people criticixe yunjin for the lyrics but idk it's giving taylor swift to me ! I was having a blast ! the rest of the album was also wonderful, unforgiven is a certified earworm and fire in the belly had everythingggg. they took their roles as latinas SERIOUSLY

the aespa mini was pretty good too ! spicy was fun but after all the action-heavy music it took me a bit to get used to that coming from aespa. I still loved welcome to my world sm more I can't lie T__T the creepy/mysterious summer vibes was just sooooo good, I kinda wish it had been the actual title lol it was just so new and the girls bodied the concept SO well!! i'm unhappy was also soooo good, I was sold from the moment they put out the track video. still hoping for another cb this year with more songs from their tour and maybe hopefully kwangya comeback T__T??? sorry to be like this but I do luv the kwangya music

abt jelly pop all I will say is that she's the better finale song <3 and the miley song well it's just so good. tiktok popularizes bangers sometimes what am I supposed to do??? ignore them???

also had a bit of an itzy moment I;m not sure why but it's not unwelcome.. bc I've always #gotten them... flawless discography fr. had an nct u moment too apparently but I think it's bc they announced sungtaro were out around the time (<-- guy who is still in denial).. at least they escaped whatever mess sm have going on with the neos rn tho.. excited for their redebut ;-;

it's not on record but I will expose myself I also had a bit of a moment w the new enhypen bct their new album slapped??? I'm not rlly fond of their voices but they do have good music that is undeniable.. it was just a matter of time before they got me ig

🎤 k-pop
- idol complaint manager with aespa
- thumb thumb thumb with lesserafim
- eunchae star diary w lesserafim, w tbz
- karina on pixid
not much to comment on what I watched this month ig I just had fun...

💬
june

🎞 movies
total movies watched: 4
3 new, 1 rewatch

jun. 2023 movies
ranked

1. the super mario bros. movie (2023) ★★★★☆
2. spiderman: into the spiderverse (2018) ★★★★★ ↻
3. spiderman: accross the spiderverse (2023) ★★★★★
4. interstellar (2014) ★★★★☆

why was the mario movie actually good like I get the hype ksjs maybe a little too fast for my liking but it's a kids movie so I get it lol and all the references more than made up for it. the graphics and the music were also really good and overall it was just so enjoyable to turn my brain off and see so much of my childhood on the screen. I had fun !

then I had the chance to watch into the spiderverse and accross the spiderverse back to back and it was a seriously life changing experience these movies are soooooo good, the animation is insane, even though the second one suffers a bit from sequel syndrome you can really see the budget upgrade for the second one when it comes even to the color gradation in each universe (and the way animators on twitter keep saying they sold their souls to make everything happen TAT) but it's seriously art. amazing character construction and development too, honestly I'm super pumped for the next one and I totally get why everyone was in love with spiderpunk because ME TOO BITCH now I have no choice but to peruse the spidermark tag and hope that someone took inspiration from this movie to add to the dream-spiderverse

then interstellar was so crazy. I wasn't expecting anything that happened like I really thought it was gonna be a the martian type beat but all the shit they pulled especially at the end was so wild like… really leaning into the fiction aspect of science fiction huh. which is not my favorite genre but this movie was still entertaining and sciencey enough to not actually kill the vibes for me. also the emotional aspect (the terrible inevitability of having a father™ always gets me) was really good like a bitch did scream cry and throw up over some scenes the tension was THERE. I did watch this mostly for the soundtrack because I've been listening to it while I study for years now and having the context of the movie really changes everything because damn i was really jamming to the backdrop of the most terrible father-daughter scenes ever while I wrote up reports and articles. it did also give me a bit of an existential crisis like we're really all gonna die and space is unknowable etc etc maybe watching this right after the damn submarine implosion news dropped wasn't my brightest idea but i had fun at least

📚 books
randomly found this article and I really do love my dreamies :') their message of hope to the youth is so special to me, especially since we're all so close in age. this made me realize that there's so much more time for us to grow together and it made me really happy. even if I've been kinda detached from them lately ik I'll always come back and feel the same safety in their content/music as I always have

🎜 music
521 scrobbles, 17 daily avg
33 artists | 74 albums | 179 tracks

TOP ARTISTS:

1. stray kids (90)
2. nct dream (89)
3. taylor swift (85)
4. ateez (81)
5. taeyong (56)
6. lesserafim (14)
7. wet leg (14)
8. enhypen (13)
9. aespa (11)
10. blackpink (10)

TOP ALBUMS:

1. 5-star by skz (89)
2. the world ep.2: outlaw by ateez (77)
3. shalala by taeyong (56)
4. broken melodies by nct dream (38)
5. evermore by taylor swift (23)
6. folklore by taylor swift (23)
7. hot sauce by nct dream (22)
8. unforgiven by lesserafim (14)
9. dark blood by enhypen (13)
10. wet leg by wet leg (13)

TOP TRACKS:

1. broken melodies by nct dream (38)
2. this world by ateez (19)
3. rainbow by nct dream (18)
4. dune by ateez (17)
5. hall of fame by skz (15)
6. gwando by taeyong (15)
7. outlaw by ateez (12)
8. wake up by ateez (12)
9. collision by skz (10)
10. superbowl by skz (10)

I was so busy this month we went straight back to not listening to anything huh ;-; at least the music I DID listen to was good !

my enhypen crimes finally appeared on record but they get balanced out <3

the skz album was EVERYTHING <3 and to me the best experience was just listening to the whole thing together hence why it's my top album but the songs are quite low on the top songs list,, but my fav was undeniably hall of fame ! collision and superbowl were clearly close seconds and lately I've also been really anjoying topline.. skz are just crazy they DON'T play around abt music at ALL

ATEEZ ALBUM WAS SOOO GOOD TOO <3 clearly lmaoo. when it first came out this world was my fav but slowly it became dune tbh.. yeosang voice is just Too charming... it's been on the rotation quite often too

and <3TAEYONG<3 my og my beloved, his album was also wonderful T__T due to the timing I couldn't listen much on release but gwando is still on of my top songs fo the year, she was fantastic. shalala was also an earworm and definitely grew on me more and more as time went on. ruby was def a fav too but tbh every single song in the album was so special and the emotionality and story behind each one of them just makes the whole album so beautiful and comforting.. ;-; my yongie always does so well and I can't wait to see what else his solo ventures bring

abt broken melodies well.. what can I say except pre-release single of ever it's soooooo good. I HATE SINGING???? YES THE FUCK I DO!!!! jamming to this was so stress relieving I couldn't help looping it every time it came on. dreamies never dissappoint <3 and ofc it's not a stressful month if I don't abuse tf out of a dream emotional manipulation song to cry to so ofc rainbow made it to the top.. ofc

🎤 k-pop
- ning's log at cannes <3
- tds2 encore: in your dream
- ateez idol human theatre
- idol's physical race w ateez
- ateez fanart museum
- kstar next door w ateez
- aeconic ningning fashion week vlog + winter gucci cruise vlog aeconic (why were these criminally short T__T)
- lee mujin service with hongjoong
- zb1 1st look behind
- zb1 kcon japan behind
- ateez hello82 with kids
- skz conodoll ep. 44 & 45
- txt i dare you
- enhypen post it or ghost it
- wanteez ep. 19, 20 & 21
- ateez outlaw showcase
- ateez conodoll ep. 25 & 26 (seonghwa’s lost media cover of winner’s empty quite literally saved my life, I listened to it at least thrice a day for like a month straight, went quadruple platinum in my room)