How to Train Your Dragon 2

As I said in my review of the first film, I was really slow to get around to watching How To Train Your Dragon. I wasn't going to make that mistake twice, so I went to see the sequel the night it came out. I did make one mistake though, and that was forgetting that the creators of this series don't pull their punches. Ever. It's so easy to say "it's a kid's movie" and forget that some people are smart enough to know that kid's entertainment doesn't need to be stupid or simple or well, not emotionally devastating. The animation is, of course, beautiful. Hiccup, Astrid, and most of the rest of the vikings of Berk are hilarious and wonderful and multi-faceted.

This movie has a LOT going for it. Hiccup's inventions have only become more complex and amazing, and he's embarking on a quest to map out their world. He happens upon a dragon hunter who is delivering dragons to the unimaginatively named Drago Bludvist. Bludvist is of course building a dragon army for conquering the world, or something. Let's be honest, that part of the story wasn't particularly well developed or original. Was it thirst for revenge? I don't even remember.

Because the thing is, the real main plot here are the relationships between the characters we know, and one significant newcomer - Hiccup's mom, Valka. Hiccup and his father Stoick have assumed she was killed many years ago, but instead she's been hiding out and rescuing dragons, creating a gorgeous sanctuary. Valka and Astrid are fantastic, and should be held up as examples of nuanced and interesting female characters for other screenwriters.

Name any two characters among the main set (Hiccup, Stoick, Valka, Astrid, and Toothless to be specific) and their relationship is amazing, multi-faceted, and interesting. Stoick and Valka have something that is absolutely beautiful and completely unexpected in a movie of this type. Love of this type isn't really something that's shown in "kid's" movies. Or honestly movies at all. Hiccup and Astrid still have a relationship that feels like a partnership, and the two of them model something really positive that again, is rare for teenage characters.

But obviously the centerpiece is Hiccup and Toothless, as it should be. Toothless is absolutely the star, to no one's surprise, and he makes everyone want their own dragon. I don't know how to warn you about the plot without being full of spoilers so I'll just say this: be prepared for utter heartbreak if you love these characters. I was crying harder than I have at a movie in a very long time, and almost everybody in the theater was quietly sniffling. This is an AMAZING movie but it hurts, so don't watch it if you're looking for a fun, simple, uplifting time okay? This franchise is too complex for that, and yes that's absolutely a good thing but you know, full of tears. Hiccup goes through a lot of emotions, but for once he doesn't really have much time in the wallowing "I'm being a stupid idiot" phase that most male protagonists go through after this kind of thing. Seriously, sorry for the vagueness.

Now, the movie wasn't 100% perfect. Several of the side characters actually grated on my nerves more than a little, and Bludvist is really wasted and kind of boring (especially because they got the super talented Djimon Hounsou for his voice). And honestly there was one particular twist regarding Astrid that I thought would be awesome that they didn't go for, and I really wish they had. But honestly, I will be there on opening night for the third movie, expecting it to break my heart even worse.

Anime Night

It's been a really long time since I've picked up a new anime series. There's a ton on my list of things I want to watch but I just haven't had a ton of time to devote to it. But in March I went to Japan on a work trip, and while I was there I ended up watching several anime shows that were airing later at night when I was at the hotel. I just figured out last week that one of them was online to watch, so my husband and I decided to have an anime night where we watched the first episode of a few different shows.

First up was Inari Kon Kon, the anime I'd been wanting to watch. The episode I saw in Japan was of course not subtitled, but it seemed interesting and I liked the animation, and honestly I could kind of follow the plot just from the visuals it was employing, which signified to me that it would be reminiscent of other stuff I'd liked, if a little cliche.

The plot is fun, a girl named Inari helps out a fox spirit (who she thinks is a normal dog) and in return the goddess of the temple grants her one wish. Earlier that day she'd discovered the guy she liked might actually like another girl, so she wishes to become the other girl. Of course this doesn't go as expected, when does it? I wasn't wrong that it was a little cliche, you can pretty much see almost every plot development coming a mile away and the characters are all exactly what you would expect them to be. But I don't mind, I do want to watch the whole show, especially since it's only ten episodes. This is the kind of simple and fun story that I often enjoy, and it doesn't hurt that the fox spirits are adorable.

My husband's first pick was Captain Earth. I had never heard of it, but it seemed like a pretty standard giant robot show. Which it was, I guess. I actually enjoyed the first fifteen minutes, but when the story really gets going it suddenly becomes really, really confusing.

What's worse is that the eyecatch for the commercial break says something like "all will become clear" and it definitely doesn't. I just got more and more confused. But in the end, I imagine I'll figure it out as the show goes on, nothing was too messed up that it couldn't be explained to some satisfaction. The characters were interesting enough that I do want to keep watching it.

So, I got to pick next and I finally caved and decided to watch Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club. I'd heard a lot about it, and there was a lot of merchandise in Japan, so why not? The first episode actually isn't something that would make me watch the show if it didn't have a huge following, if I'm being honest. Two of the main characters just don't really do anything other than look good in swimsuits, at least not anything that made me want to know more about them.

Two of the other characters were interesting and I wanted to know more, but they don't seem to be the focus so I'm not sure how much will be about them. But in general, there was just so much backstory in the first episode, I kind of wanted it to throw me in the middle of the action like Captain Earth did instead. But obviously I'll keep watching, everybody's obsessed with this show and there must be a reason. Plus, you know, not bad to look at.

My husband wavered for a minute before picking another giant robot anime but in the end he picked Argevollen. This was definitely my least favorite pick of the night, and kind of a sad place to end on really. I had no problem following the story even though we're not given a ton of detail, but that's because it was just stuff I've seen before over and over again. The characters didn't really become anything or do anything at all, I couldn't tell you anything about any of them after the end of the episode except that the main character is a bit of an idiot.

Honestly the only effect the first episode had on me was making me want to watch Full Metal Panic again. At least in that one the characters are developed as people, the robots aren't as weird looking, and I actually care about the conflict because they set it up. But this one, it just goes nowhere for the entire first episode, really. I don't care that the main character gets the awesome new mech because I don't know if I even want his side to win the war. Not a good start.

Julep Round Up: Makeup

So I started this with a "here's how to spend your Jules before you cancel your Julep Maven account" because I didn't realize you can't even spend Jules on regular purchases can you? You can only get "Jule" boxes or your monthly Maven box with them. What a useless bonus program. Meanwhile I got like $80 of products from Birchbox for $3 because of points, a discount code, and extra samples.

Anyway, as much as I complain about Julep, they actually have some pretty good products. So here's some more you might want to look into. Sorry for the lack of pictures, most of my stuff came in boxes and I didn't do individual photos of them.

Blank Canvas Mattifying Face Primer: I got this in a mystery box, I probably never would have picked up on my own. So, it promises to absorb shine and lock in moisture, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles and pores. In general, it does make my foundation go on smoothly and well, and it works perfectly well as a primer, I do notice a positive difference when I use it. However, I don't think it's any better or worse than any other primer I've used and I'll probably try out a drugstore brand after this is up. One thing it doesn't do is reduce the appearance of wrinkles and pores, I've noticed absolutely no change on that front. Meanwhile Benefit's The POREFessional is like dark magic or something.

Sweep Eyeshadow Palette: Neutrals: I'm not really the best judge of if eyeshadow is really high quality or not, to be honest. I know nothing about formula, pigment, and all that stuff. But this a good neutral palette, and I do really like the colors in it. The main problem for me is like most Julep things, price. This is just WAY too much to be charging for the size of this palette. Like most of their photos, they give you no context for the size and it's just smaller than you'd think and not worth $24 for sure. Maybe I'm just cheap. For less money, you can get the 28 Neutral Color Eyeshadow Palette from BH Cosmetics, which has a lot of similar neutral browns. And you wait a month or so, BH has a lot of amazing sales, plus great customer service.

Eye Sheen Liquid Eyeshadow: This is again a thing where I can't say anything bad about it, and since it's the only liquid eyeshadow I own, I can't really compare it to another product. It does go on smoothly and easily, dries quickly, and if I use a good primer it doesn't get creases. But again, the price is a killer because you can't get a sense of the size. This thing is TINY, and maybe I'm cheap but I just don't think I would ever pay $18 for it. Especially because without an applicator, you either have to put it on with your finger, which ew, or get a brush really yucky. Definitely needs new packaging.

Kajal Eye Glider: I got this in a mystery box, and at the time I was convinced I couldn't master eye liner, especially a pencil, because I'd only used cheap ones that were too hard to work well. So I have to point out this is in fact a very good eyeliner pencil, it's actually the best one I have right now. The fact that it's got both brown and black is an extra bonus. I haven't shopped around a lot to know if the price is fair or not, but since I don't wear a ton of eyeliner it's going to last me forever, so I'm really happy with it. It does blend and smudge well, and it stays on all day, and I just generally really like it. It made me go back to liking pencils over liquid eyeliner.

Julep Lip Gloss: I have two tubes of this, in Charming and Timeless. It's good lip gloss, it stays put and looks nice. Unlike other things here, the size is actually great, there's enough of it to last me forever. I think Charming is actually a really excellent color, one of my favorites. I like this just as well as some of my high end samples I've gotten from Birchbox, and the packaging is cute too. $20 seems a little steep, but it's on par with the name brand stuff I've seen. Is it better than some drugstore brand or something way cheaper? I don't know, probably not. But if you're already buying $20 lip gloss, this isn't a bad one to try.

Now, I know I haven't really been giving glowing reccomendations to the Maven program, I still think at this point until they fix their customer service it's a bad buy. But their makeup products aren't bad, I haven't gotten a bad one yet. Are they overpriced? Some of them are, absolutely. The eyeshadow should not cost that much. Their prices are pretty consistent with really high end brands like Smashbox or NARS, and quite frankly I'm not sure they're as good as that. In fact of all of these products the only one I would say I would actually think about actually buying if I ran out would be the Kajal Eye Glider. All of these I got in Maven boxes or mystery boxes, and they've been good additions to my makeup and I'm happy with them.