While sitting down to write this article, I felt a wave of bittersweet emotions wash over me. It’s the kind of feeling you get when you realize that time has seemingly gone by too quickly, and in an instant, you can’t help but wonder: “How did this happen?”
Throughout my time with the KO News, I have written reviews about myriad different things, from books to television shows to films. I have always been particular about what topics I pick to write about, ensuring that I have enough to say about them, as well as the tone and message I want to convey, before sitting down and writing.
Despite having written almost exclusively on different pieces of media for the past three years, however, there are still some shows, books, films, and video games that I have never gotten the opportunity to write about, whether that be due to time constraints or when I sat down and engaged with them. As such, I wanted to dedicate this article to three pieces of media that I have never had the chance to write dedicated articles about throughout my time writing and editing for the KO News, with one being dedicated to either books, video games, or films/television shows each. I will try to be succinct, and narrowing down only to three things leaves much to be desired still, but I hope that you will check these out nonetheless.
- “Pathologic: The Marble Nest”
The “Pathologic” game series is something I have only gotten into very recently, and with the third installment, “Pathologic 3,” coming out later this year, it seems like it’s a better time than ever to be a fan of the games. Created by the Russian game studio Ice-Pick Lodge, you play as one of three “healer” characters who are hoping to eradicate an oncoming plague from a small town in the rural Russian steppe. Each character has their own distinct morals and ideals, all of which give a different perspective on the same overall story. With how convoluted the lore of the two mainline games, “Pathologic” (2005) and its remake “Pathologic 2” (2019), are, however, I wanted to focus on a smaller game in the series for this article: “Pathologic: The Marble Nest.”
“Marble Nest” was originally released in 2016 as a demo for “Pathologic 2,” eventually being remastered and re-released as DLC upon the release of “Pathologic 2” in 2019. In the DLC, you play as the Bachelor, Daniil Dankovsky, one of the characters from the original game. After receiving a premonition that the plague will eventually come and kill him, the main story follows Daniil as he seeks to keep the plague out of the only uninfected part of the town left. Throughout the game, however, Daniil is constantly confronted with a personification of death, and at the end, he must confront his own mortality and accept his death, lest he be doomed to repeat the day again.
“Marble Nest” has a very engaging story and is very beginner-friendly. The DLC’s overall runtime is around two to three hours, much shorter than the average runtime of “Pathologic 2,” which is approximately 27-30 hours. The mechanics of the game are also toned down, with the focus being more on the story rather than combat. I’ve never really liked the combat in the “Pathologic” games, so I appreciate that there is more story built into the series. The structure of the game also allows you to get to know the characters extremely well, and you are able to become invested in both Daniil’s struggle to eradicate the plague and his existential crisis that worsens throughout the plot.
If you are interested in video games, then I highly recommend you play “Pathologic: The Marble Nest.” It’s short, engaging, and has a very fun premise overall. With the third game focusing entirely on Daniil’s time in the town, this would also be a good way to get to know Daniil before its release. A free demo for “Pathologic 3,” titled “Quarantine,” is releasing on March 17, so if you would like more of “Pathologic” or Daniil Dankovsky, you are in luck!
- “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust
Narrowing down a book to write about for this section was extremely difficult. I tend to only read classics nowadays, and I know that they are both not very accessible language-wise and not appealing to most of my peers. Still, I wanted to write about one of my favorite books, and upon further contemplation, the choice became obvious.
“In Search of Lost Time,” also known as “Remembrance of Things Past,” is French author Marcel Proust’s magnum opus. Spanning over seven volumes and 4,215 pages in total, the novel follows an unnamed protagonist as he grows up, falls in love, and engages with the society around him. The novel is as philosophical as it is literary, particularly when it comes to the idea of nostalgia. “In Search of Lost Time” features several passages about memory and the past, with Proust introducing the concept of “involuntary memory,” the idea that memories can be awoken or remembered by looking at certain objects without any effort being consciously made.
With all that being said, “In Search of Lost Time” is definitely a novel that one must work up to. Its contents are incredibly hefty, and given how long the story is in its entirety, it is not something that you’d be able to read in a day, let alone a week or even a month. Still, I believe everyone should read the novel at least once in their life. “In Search of Lost Time” has significantly shaped how I view nostalgia in my own life, and I hope that if anyone is to read it one day, that you experience the same fulfillment I did when reading it.
- “Revolutionary Girl Utena”
Senior thesis has been, to say the least, a very daunting process. Writing a 15-page paper on a narrowed down topic is not an easy task, especially when there is barely any breathing room. That being said, however, senior thesis has made me look back on some of the media I loved when I was younger, encouraging me to re-examine them now that I am older. One of these pieces of media holds a very special place in my heart, that being the 1997 anime “Revolutionary Girl Utena.”
As a longtime fan of “Sailor Moon,” it was inevitable that I would become a fan of “Revolutionary Girl Utena” as well. Originally conceived as an idea for a new “Sailor Moon” film, creator Kunihiko Ikuhara left Toei Animation due to creative differences. Over the years, the idea slowly morphed and transformed as revisions were made, turning into what is now “Revolutionary Girl Utena.”
The main premise of the show is very simple: a fourteen-year-old girl named Tenjou Utena attends a prestigious academy, though she is considered odd by some because she crossdresses. She is an idealist and dreams of becoming a “prince,” an archetypically male role, rather than a “princess,” an archetypically female role. Through a series of events, she becomes involved in secret duels at the academy, winning the hand of a mysterious girl named Himemiya Anthy. The actual story of the show, on the other hand, is much more complex. “Revolutionary Girl Utena” is riddled with symbolism throughout, to the point where a lot of the show becomes confusing and muddled. The crux of the show is about escaping abuse and tearing down the systems that oppress others, with the “princes” representing toxic masculinity and the “princesses” representing docile, subservient women.
The show has gained a cult following over the years, despite its initial scarce release in the west. It, along with “Sailor Moon,” is one of the first shows I ever watched that had an explicitly shown lesbian couple, that being Utena and Anthy. “Revolutionary Girl Utena” has also gone on to inspire many shows in the west, with the most notable being “Steven Universe” and the modern “She-Ra” reboot. There is so much more I could say about this show and how it has impacted me, but for brevity’s sake, I will stop here. I highly recommend that you watch the show yourself. A lot of the analyses online don’t fully cover all the aspects of the show that I love, and it is only through watching the show that you can fully experience what makes “Revolutionary Girl Utena” so special.
Final Words.
There is so much more I could write about all three of these picks and more, but for now, I want to leave you with some final words:
Engage with different kinds of media around you. Pick up a book you like, watch a movie you love, play a video game that you have fond memories of. If possible, try to engage with things that you don’t think will interest you. You’ll never know if you’ll like it or not if you don’t try to broaden your horizons. Who knows, you might end up loving it. That being said, have conversations about things you don’t like, too. Don’t stop reading or thinking critically of things after you graduate just because you’re not in school anymore. In this day and age, where it is difficult to discern authenticity, bias, or merit in many things, critical thinking is more important than ever. I’m not usually one to wax poetics on things, but I suppose it can’t be helped at times. Just keep engaging with what interests you and don’t ponder on the judgement of others. If it’s something that makes you happy, then that is enough.
