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The death of Kiarostami hit me like a ton of bricks. Shortly after his passing, I read a quote of brilliance that stated by Jean-Luc Godard, “Film begins with DW Griffith and ends with Abbas Kiarostami”. Interestingly, Godard mentioned this during 2005, or 11 years prior of his passing. It is evident that the mentioned was true then, and true to me today. Kiarostami emerged as a filmmaker during a time in Iran where the art he produced was highly subjected and monitored by the Iranian government. During the latter part of his career after establishing a name for himself globally within Iran, Kiarostami broke into filmmaking in Europe and Japan. His time in Iran shined during the Koker Trilogy where he painted an immaculate picture of the people of Iran and the heavy-hearted people he encountered. Many of his films, of course Close-Up being the most obvious, displayed non-actors performing realistic presentations of their lives and practicality. Taste of Cherry is a favorite of mine for the almost real-time aspect of the pacing, very blatant humility, and desperation as the film comes to a close. Kiarostami created a brilliant array of films with convoluted and dense atmospheres with Certified Copy and Like Someone in Love. His talent was evident as no matter where he went, what the subject matter contained, or who his audience was—his brilliant take on atmosphere was always radiant. I never had the pleasure to see any of his films in theatres, but I have wrestled online with trying to find subtitles for some of his films, namely Where is My Friend’s Home, in languages I can understand. Some of his films are gems hidden away, and others are easy to access and watched by many. I hope every film lover can have the time to watch his entire filmography as I have, because it will be nothing short of a cathartic.

Dark Souls is my favorite game of all time. I have completed it at least 20 times, am very involved in the community, and try to convince all of my friends to play it. I’ve earned all of the achievements and still go back and play it on a weekly basis for PvP or challenge runs. That being said, my experience and relationship with Dark Souls II was an entirely different experience. It was very difficult for me to warm up to the new feel and additions of Dark Souls II, and found myself feeling spoiled by the complexity of its predecessor. The bosses were the main cause of concern considering the fact that they were blasé at best when comparing them to the bosses featured within the first game. The ability to warp from the beginning, lack of shortcuts, and excessive amount of bonfires all created a very condensed feel, and lack of attention to pristine world design that made Dark Souls stand out to the public in the first place. The tracking of the enemies, artificial difficulty demonstrated by hordes of enemies rather than skillfully places entities, and rushed attempt to conspire a plot are of the worst offensives Dark Souls II committed. While I recognize that the game had a difficult legacy to live up to while succeeding Dark Souls, the insurmountable amount of backtracking on previously perfected mechanics make the mistakes made in production unforgiveable. The games previous director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, was not present for the making of Dark Souls II, and it is evident from the beginning.

I get a lot of insight and earn more admiration for anime the more I learn of its history. The evolution of the medium is unique and still developing as new seasons roll out so there’s a constant metamorphosis within the genre. Though, a constant critique that I encounter with both veteran and new coming anime fans is an overwhelmingly negative view on the “moe” genre. Many argue that Lucky Star started the moe trend, and it’s starting to be present with every coming season. New Game! was the moe of last season, and it generated lots of fan praise and equal amount of disdain from others who distance themselves from the genre. In general, I believe moe is here to stay considering the fact that Love Live!, Yuru Yuri, and Kiniro Mosaic are beloved spectacles that have been sweeping up the hearts of many. Although the genre is beginning to create a sort of divide amongst anime lovers, I hope moe can gain a respectable name alongside action or psychological as many of the series generated from the genre are nothing less than brilliant and uplifting. While moe may be contrived or boring to some, the eccentric style is constantly hilarious, adorable, and wonderful at developing well-liked characters. It is incredibly different from the other genres associated with anime, but that only makes it all the more interesting.