Reviews

An incredibly intense espionage thriller

Before getting into the review, here is some historical background for the film:

The film is set during the Second Sino-Japanese War and WWII. There are several powers in play at this time: the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang, and Imperial Japan. Imperial Japan invaded Manchuria (located in northeastern China) in the early 1930s and established the puppet state of Manchukuo. It was here where they hoped to establish a base from where they would continue their expansion into Asia.

In 1937, after many years of conflict, Japan occupied Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing. The Nanjing Massacre occurred at this time. After the fall of Nanjing, which had been the capital of the Republic of China at that time, the Kuomintang moved the capital west to Chongqing, under Jiang Jieshi's leadership. During this time, the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang formed a temporary alliance, suspending the years of civil conflict between them, although their vie for power continued.

In 1940, Wang Jingwei, who was once a member of the Kuomintang but had always been in opposition against Jiang Jieshi, collaborated with Japan to establish the Wang Jingwei regime. They claimed to be the leadership of the Republic of China, when in fact they were a puppet government of Japan, overseeing the Japanese-occupied territory in eastern China, under Japan's control. They established their capital in Nanjing and used the Kuomintang flag. The Axis powers recognized the Wang Jingwei regime, while the Allied powers still recognized Jiang Jieshi as the leader of the Republic of China.

From 1937-1941, Japan had left a few neighbourhoods in Shanghai unoccupied, because that was where the American-British joint settlement and French Concession were located. Many people fled to this area to live at that time. After Pearl Harbor in 1941, the entirety of Shanghai became occupied by Japan. Many cities were bombed during these years, including Guangzhou, which experienced bombings for 14 months in 1937-1938.

During this era of war, which is also called the War of Resistance in China, espionage networks were established to try to undermine the enemy. Hidden Blade tells a story about these individuals.

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Even without knowing the historical context, Hidden Blade presents a visual feast of vivid characters and imagery. Cheng Er uses a non-linear narrative approach to reveal the stories of these characters. The main characters, Mr. He (Tony Leung) and Mr. Ye (Wang Yibo), are both enigmatic and morally ambiguous. We meet Mr. He, the charming man who hides intimidation behind a pleasant smile, and Mr. Ye, a rootless man who does not shy away from violence. Tony Leung does not disappoint as the veteran actor that he is, as the man who can tell stories with just his eyes or a slight smile, and he delivers a charismatic performance that reaffirms why he is such a revered actor. Wang Yibo delivers a phenomenal performance to match. Mr. Ye is a compelling character who is mesmerizing, perplexing, suave, and incredibly human at the same time. Wang Yibo does a fantastic job of portraying this complex character with mysterious motives, who seems to hide much more than he lets on behind his cool and composed appearance. He excels at playing a character whose inner turmoil is silently repressed.

The cast of side characters are also worth mentioning, with memorable performances from all of the actors. I take half a star off only because I feel that the female character stories could have been explored further. Zhou Xun makes a special appearance as Ms. Chen, and although her part is brief, she captivates the audience from the moment she walks onto the scene with her package of pastries and she leaves an emotional impact on the audience even in the short time that she has on screen. Jiang Shuying (Ms. Jiang) and Zhang Jingyi (Ms. Fang) are both charming as well, however their opportunity to showcase their strengths is quite limited.

The cinematography is well-executed and the attention to detail is remarkable. In one interview, Cheng Er reveals that even the ties that are worn by the characters are all actual ties from that era that have been collected. The music also compliments the scenes beautifully, adding further to the tension which Cheng Er builds so skillfully throughout the film. The choreography of the fight scenes is also top-tier and will not disappoint.

As a movie depicting times of war, there are several scenes that are difficult to watch and Cheng Er does not shy away from showing the cruelty of what people may have experienced. General content warnings without spoilers include torture, suffocation, death of an animal, implied rape (not depicted), as well as genre-typical violence that one may expect from an espionage war thriller.

Overall, the cast and crew have created a incredibly intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you thinking about many scenes even after finishing the film. There are many parallels drawn throughout the film and it is a film that only gets better with rewatching as one lets the details marinate. At the end you're left with a lingering admiration for the individuals who struggled to free themselves from the oppression that they lived under. In doing so, they have sacrificed their own lives, their relationships, and even their own values in their effort to forge a path forward, towards a future where the nameless ones might once again stand in the sunlight.

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Worth your time

Is it an exceptional movie? Not really. But was it worth my time? yes! Everyone has their own taste and so my review is obviously more subjective than objective. But I'm here to share what I felt after watching the movie.

Usually these types of films are more centered around the criminal's life and his reasonings and what not. While we want the victim to survive, what really keeps the audience locked in is often the story of the psychopath. This film took up the challenge of doing the reverse. While Im Siwan plays an important character there's really nothing we understand of his character. While it can be a put off to some viewers, I really liked the fact that they tried to take the rare route with this film. The story is truly victim centered as we learn a lot about Chun Woohee's character and her environment. And due to this, it is her story and her story alone. No other victims of his is discussed in detail, as his crimes and his story is deemed as unworthy of screen time by the crew. And personally, I commend their choice. It is very risky as most audience who come to watch films like this have expectations, and this film will be unsatisfying to such people. But I am glad they took that gamble because I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The social criticism is also very relevant, but a lot subtler than expected. It does not give in-the-face preachy messages about how our generation is too dependent on smartphones. Rather it highlights how with the growth of social media and technology we have lost physical presence. We forget to check up on people closest to us and resort to think 'they must be doing well, they posted something the other day.' My only criticism would be that the final scenes felt a little too rushed. Apart from that I'm very satisfied and it left me contemplating about how heavily I rely on my devices. Where is the borderline? It's for each of us to decide for ourselves.

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Confusing but not that bad

The sister was so fucking disgusting, but she was a way of showing the fetishization of straight girls who just see two guys making out and literally think it's so hot and cute. Its killing me that she didn't even think of helping but just stood there and recorded the whole thing and just chat about it with her friends. I didn't understand what happened at the end honestly.

The way that they decided to come out it just unrealistic but probably they thought that there wasn't any other way since he knew that she wouldn't get it otherwise??

Overall, confusing but its a 2015 movie, i didn't have high expectations

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Yes im in pain and might need to get admitted in mental hospital later

Alright, so this was a movie that touched my heart and want to me to jump up and down all day, heck yes this is messed up but i like it, The ending broke my heart, also the backstory of Kai,, these made my heart break down, but at the beginning of the movie, i was actually getting crazy because it was too messed up, tottaly not worth watching because im mad human now?? ok maybe im no longer a human, but reminder: watch at your own risk of breakdown
now i need more messed up dramas, pls suggest me if u can and thank you for reading if u did, and tomorrow my last day here, im going to mental hospital

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Excessive savagery, dull storyline, unrelatable characters and the villain one-sidedly runs the show

I'm writing this review mostly to help others manage their expectations before watching this movie.

It starts slow and confusing. You get to chuckle a couple of times before being introduced to one of the most unnecessarily inhumane scenes. The antagonist is a monster and the movie doesn't stop driving that home to the viewers. Not once, twice or even thrice seems to be enough.
With all the chaos going on all the time, this movie still manages to feel draggy. The somewhat amusing scenes start to feel flat. The finale itself seems to drag on and on. The ending is unsatisfying.

I'll mention a few positives at the end.

Before continuing, I'll just point out that I was most disappointed because I was expecting an action-comedy movie I could watch with my family. Nope. To sum it up: it's too brutal with little to no context or character development to the point it gets boring and forgetful.

Most relevant characters are barely acknowledged. The opening scene that's supposed to introduce us to team good guys is a mess. It's 99% skippable and unnecessary to the main plot. You only get a gist of who the main character is and his surroundings but get nothing substantial that makes you really root for this guy.
The antagonist is at such a crazy level of monstrosity that at some point you don't even want him on screen anymore. His scenes just show you over and over again how disgusting of a human being he is. All that screen time could have been used to flesh out other characters instead.
Somehow this movie makes you feel like a passive bystander instead of someone truly invested in the story. Even though you want justice, you don't really get attached to anything. You simply watch things unfold almost indifferently.

So, some positives before concluding.
I found the level of chaos in the conversations, confrontations and fight scenes gave it a less "staged" or "clean" feel than what we usually find in other movies. Sorta realistic in a way. But somehow still less entertaining. Ups, this is supposed to be the positives section...
If I have to say something else good about it, I guess the actors did a good job.

To boil it down to one problem: ultimately, you don't really care about the good guys, you just want the bad guy gone and feel sympathy towards the victims.

Watching the trailer, reading the synopsis and some comments, I imagined something completely different: something fun, clever, with great teamwork, sacrifice, high stakes, etc.
How could it be so lacklustre instead? The victory at the end doesn't really feel earned. Protagonist and antagonist have no chemistry. They could be facing other people and it would be the same. There are no character arcs. Every character remains the same from beginning to end. There are too many small and not-so-small details that just quickly fade away into the background. Any intended message gets buried underneath all the overbearing violence, yelling and overly fast switch between scenes.

Alright, I've ranted enough. Hope this is useful to someone.

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It's a very short film, but it makes you think on many levels. I think how we feel after watching it and which side we take depends on where we are in our lives. As humans, we have very different experiences. We can suffer from our own disorders, as friends or partners of people with disorders. It is important to try to understand the other side, to be with the other person, but only if we have enough strength. Unfortunately, we are not always as strong as we would like to be and we are not able to handle everything well.

Whenever we see that we can't cope with something, that we may have some disorders, it's best to try to go to a specialist who is good for us.

Ultimately, we're only human.

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made the mistake of not checking the tags

(Vague spoilers only)

This movie was great -- wonderfully acted, so beautiful, so funny, emotionally resonant, and just really heartfelt. However, I made the mistake of not checking the tags here on MDL; I just saw the movie on Netflix and thought it was going to be a cute romance. And it was, but it's also a tearjerker for sure and Netflix didn't warn me!! I don't even know the last time a movie made me cry this much. Not even just the ending, but other moments throughout, whenever Bora cried it was like I was crying too. Everything about Woonho's story made me cry, and I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it haha. Their actors were absolutely amazing, though I thought Yeondoo's and Hyunjin's actors did really well too. Bora's dad was a really fun addition and gave levity when it was needed.

Definitely worth watching but bring tissues.

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Is Spring muddy everywhere? Are salary workers resigned everywhere?

Seeing the run time at 2hr 24 min, I was concerned this film might not hold my interest or languish in pace. Nothing to fear, the film held my interest all the way through. It's remarkable how Ozu can keep such a low pulse without putting me to sleep. In fact, I am stimulated by his films. Early Spring is no exception and was an excellent representation of Ozu's oeuvre.

It seems Ozu covered riskier material in this film compared to earlier ones. The main themes covered were infidelity and the malaise of salary workers. While infidelity was addressed more often and explicitly, I believe the malaise of the salary workers was the deeper undercurrent of the film, despite its implicit narrative. There are common themes that are touched on less frequently or explicitly, such as industrial development, postwar grief, and gender roles in society (i.e. the rapid progress of strong, modern young women).

Sugi and Masako play their roles very well. The scene where Masako confronts Sugi on his transgression is quietly intense. Not even yelling or the breaking of plates could have amplified that intensity. It's difficult to tell what drives their broken relationship. Is it the death and grief of their child? Is it something problematic interpersonally with no external factors mediating the relationship issues? The filmmakers' ambiguity forces us to insert a personal interpretation to explain their circumstances.

Goldfish is less believable as a character, but so distinct and lively that I could not help but enjoy her performance. She symbolizes the salary worker's distraction from disillusionment, a chance to forget about the dull pain of repetitive boredom. One of the male coworkers, in a conversation on the suspicions of their colleagues' affair, comments that he disapproves of it, but is also envious. It might not be Goldfish, specifically, that is desired, but rather the excitement that comes with it. Many Salary workers desperately dream of something better beyond their monotony. Even the opportunity to gossip about coworkers fulfills that itch.

The support cast is a menagerie of workers, company workers, pub-restaurant owners scraping by, and so forth. It doesn't really matter what their jobs are; they're the same, just grinding, cooling themselves with hand fans, gossiping, and moving the cogs of society along.

The salary worker's life of drudgery is one I need not describe in detail. In fact, the following exchange from the film (with a few lines removed to streamline the point) says it all:

That's the fate of the salaryman
Only company directors have autos (everyone else crams on trains)
Sometimes I just hate my work
But it's difficult to change
Worse if you have children
Sure you still have your dreams
But a free life....
I'm a salaried man

Consider this selection of script from a 1956 Japanese film. If you're reading this review, chances are you are not Japanese nor are you 80 or 90 years old. Can you identify with those lines? I would guess many of us know intimately what the lifestyle of a salary worker is like. It's remarkable how cyclical and universal human life can be despite distance in culture, geography, and time/eras. Ozu isn't famous only for the fetishist filmmakers. His films are very relevant in this era for the common people. Things have changed on the surface, but the undercurrent of the salaried lifestyle is still going strong.

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"People today have forgotten that they are really just part of nature."

Over eight vignettes from Kurosawa's Dreams, you'll float through surreal settings with dolls come to life, tremble from the hellish landscape of a post-apocalyptic war and sit by a soothing river where life flows by, the past, present and future. Many of Kurosawa Akira's familiar themes run through the stories and some you may find more meaningful or interesting than others. If you've ever wanted to wander through a Van Gogh painting this is the film to do it with.

Kurosawa begins the film with a wedding with possibly tragic consequences and ends the film with a joyful funeral. The old film master certainly likes to shake things up when he bookends stories. The first two dreams are when the central character standing in for Kurosawa, I, is a child. In "Sunshine Through the Rain", young I disobeys his mother and runs off to watch a Fox wedding procession leading to one of the most beautiful and disturbing scenes in the film. "Peach Orchard" has little I confronting the spirits of the peach trees his family had cut down. The spirits have taken the form of his sister's dolls and have mercy on the young boy due to his love of the lost blossoming trees. The spirits cause the trees to bloom momentarily in a most creative manner.

The next dreams feature an adult I. In "The Blizzard", four explorers are caught in a deadly snow storm. One by one, they succumb to the cold and fall asleep even as I encourages them onward. A mountain spirit attempts to lure I to sleep and he must resist or they will all die. "The Tunnel" sees I returning from WWII and walking through a long rural tunnel. He's confronted by a bloody grenade carrying anti-tank dog, then a private who had died in his arms. Finally, his whole ghost platoon confronts him. He must deal with his guilt and grief of being the only survivor as he faces his men.

In "Crows", I is an artist who travels through Van Gogh's paintings and meets the great artist. What he finds is a man driven to madness by his need to work and create the perfect paintings in his mind on the canvas. Perhaps the story is a reflection of Kurosawa and his own relentless drive to work. He too, had contemplated suicide, but went on to survive and continue his artistry.

The next two dreams are dark and as subtle as the old man in his I Fear to Live. In "Mt. Fuji in Red" Japan is ruined by the explosion of a nuclear reactor which covers the island in radioactive clouds. I and the people he is with have no place to run and one decision to make. Do they choose to die quickly or slowly? "The Weeping Demon" has I traipsing through a barren wasteland burned away by a nuclear war. The only life are giant dandelions and avaricious survivors with horns forced to devour one another to survive.

In the last dream, I crosses a narrow wooden bridge over a pristine river with waterwheels flanking both banks in "Village of the Water Mills". He comes across an old man fixing one of the wheels and discovers they use no electricity and have no need for scientific inventions. Most of the villagers live until they are very old due to their simple healthy way of life. The old man leaves I to join a rousing processional for a villager who has died, a celebration of the fulfilled life she had led. Kurosawa took us from cynicism.

Kurosawa's signature fog and wind showed up in most dreams, from the gentle rain misting in the sunshine, to the blinding blizzard on the mountain, to the colorful radioactive winds after the explosion with Mt. Fuji ablaze in orange and red. Many scenes were either brilliantly swathed in colorful flowers or menacingly gray and windy, never letting you find a comfortable place to rest.

The music and sounds further brought the scenes to life. The heavy breathing of the explorers in the howling wind, fighting for each step in the waist deep snow portrayed their desperate situation and resolve to live. Something as benign as footsteps became utterly haunting as the officer stood at the tunnel hearing the footsteps of his platoon coming toward him echoing louder and louder and later growing fainter and fainter. Several vignettes used stylized music and dancing, makeup, and costumes, reaching back into the past for inspiration.

Kurosawa covered an emotional diversity during his wedding, 2 apocalypses, and a funeral--- forgiveness, survivor's guilt, human resilience, and love for nature, as well as human greed and hubris. As he often did, he showed how the powerful materialistic upper tier with their out of control technology and self-absorption might destroy everything and everyone. Because of the captains of industry and their willful destruction of the environment they would be given a special hell to live in. Those who made friends with nature could live peacefully and well. If we take care of the environment, it will take care of us.

While I loved the sentiment of the final vignette, humankind will need to evolve much higher to do away with hate, envy, and the need for power. Inventions themselves are not always a bad thing, they can be very useful. As quickly as technology develops though so does our need for greater wisdom and love. Simply abandoning technology will not be enough.

Dreams took us on a trip through the river of time into the past, alternate planes of existence, and to possible futures. Whether this film comes across as a self-indulgent exercise by the director or a fascinating look into the beliefs about humankind and art by one of the 20th century's finest directors will be up to the individual. Even though he could be heavy handed at times or completely enigmatic I found the dreams thought provoking, creative, and a delight for the eyes.

2/17/23

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PART 1 FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS COLLEGE ARC

OMG! Oh My Girl is probably one of the stupidest movies I have ever watched, periodt. It starts off as a cutesy college romance flick with the usual tropes such as unrequited love, but they actually like each other secretly, if it makes sense. The movie should have ended when Guy(MML) graduated and had apparently moved on from June(FML).

Instead, the next hour or so shows us the most abhorrent love story of this generation. There still was no romantic development between the two and June is still with her boyfriend from the first arc named Pete(SML). Pete’s a great guy, and another good thing this movie has blessed us is Tah and Lex’s relationship.

COLLEGE ARC

Guy. What a dumb fucking character. He is the usual “Oh I was friendzoned even though me and June are perfect for each other” but won’t make a fucking move or even one small hint that he actually likes June. Like, bro?? He victimizes himself stating that God hates him since the moments are perfect but he still isn’t with June. Like, HE HAD SO MANY CHANCES TO TELL HER HOW HE FELT??! Also, when they were in college, he dated this girl named Patty, and when Phing and June broke up(for the nth time because Phing is a jealous dumbfuck, ugh another irredeemable character), he breaks up with Patty IN PUBLIC, only to see Phing and June get together a few seconds later? The writing is so stupid oh my fucking god I swear.

After that dumb scene, he goes to a bar and decides to drink himself to death and meets this girl at a bar on the way to the smoking area so he bums a cigarette off of the bartender to hit on this girl but then she states that she just wanted to fart?? Kinda funny but wow, was Guy just useless. Lo and behold, June is in the smoking area too! And they have an actual cute moment and shit but GUY DOES NOT DO SHIT. LIKE LITERALLY, JUNE IS NOW SINGLE BRO, MAN THE FUCK UP??!!!!!

INSTEAD, He dares her to get a guys phone number in front of him as a bet, which is the dumbest fucking thing you want your crush to do just when she became single. ??Fortunately?? The guy did not give her the phone number so Guy was 500 baht richer, amirite? Stupid fucking writing I swear to god. ANYWAY, He decides to leave for some reason since he was jelly and a dick for some reason and it rained and he didnt leave and Tah arrived and left and shit. What the actual fuck. Anyway, the bar closes, oh wait, the guy that June was asking the number of was a bandmate of Pete(SML), so, in hindsight, dumb fucking move Guy.

So, the bar closes, the place is flooded, they have this whole cute but disgustingly unsanitary barefoot walk in the flood and a dead rat touches Guy’s foot and just cute shit happens ya know? LIKE A NORMAL FUCKING COLLEGE ROM-COM! HERE’S THE CLICKER THOUGH!!!!! AFTER THAT, June FINALLY meets Pete and the next scene, they are dating??

Like wtf? HELLOOOO??CONTEXT??Anyway, they get together and guy is all sobby and sad and shit cuz he’s a sad fucking boi amirite, and then there was this graduation which was cool, i liked it. But that was it. He graduates, brings the disgusting slipper June picked up off of the shitty flood, and this is where I wanted the movie to end. A bittersweet rom com.

If you thought I was done, I have only just begun.

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Pasangan tarik ulur yang bikin capek sendiri

Simpel aja sebenarnya. Film slow pace yang banyak tarik ulur kayak gini tuh bukan seleraku. Ditambah background story dari female lead nya yang punya pacar 10 tahun, tapi kegoda sama cowok cakep di kereta dalam satu hari aja udah bikin film ini jadi film red flag buat aku. Temen-temen female leadnya juga toxic. Untungnya, ada temennya male lead yang yah menyedihkan tapi bisa sedikit menghibur. Juga karena aku baru nonton film ini di tahun 2023, aku gak bisa menyalahkan film sepenuhnya. Mungkin pada tahun film ini rilis, tema kayak gini yang jadi primadona. Tapi tetep sih, buatku film ini jelek.

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It’s good if you ignore all the discriminatory and bigoted comments said by characters

As with the premise of pretending to be a woman to get close to the woman that you like, obviously it is going to be a bit of a perverted and cringey story.

There is a lot of racism, homophobia, sexism and misogyny in this movie, especially when the main lead is talking to his friend. There is also the use of blackface as a joke early on in the film and a lot of distasteful things about non mainland China countries with a lot of little digs at Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan sprinkled in throughout.

They also portray lesbians and masculine women as predatory sex pests but try to pretend that that is not intentional.

Women are heavily objectified and more so presented as pieces of sexual meat that are easy to get rather than people.
They try to make it like the main lead is a nice guy that actually cares for the love interest but at the start he’s pretty much picking and choosing women by looking at their body parts and saying too big, too short, too individual and then at the end it’s like saying it’s easy to get the love interest back in the end because women forgive major violations really easily but that’s kinda what happens in most dramas anyway. They’ll be a massive issue and the main lead will just get forgiven pretty much straight away.

Acting wise, I don’t have any complaints really, it’s the same quality of acting you’d expect to see in any over-the-top cringe drama.

The music was okay, not particularly memorable but not noticeably bad.

You can kind of tell what kind of movie it is going to be just from the intro.

In terms of rewatch value, I wouldn’t watch the whole movie again but there are some funny parts that I would maybe watch again.

During the end credits there are interviews with the main actor and his wife and also with various couples asking about their thoughts on men dressing up as women. The main actor says some sexist and homophobic things and his wife is visibly uncomfortable with what he is saying and she ends up saying that she would support people no matter their sexuality unlike him.

So, all in all, it is a good movie as long as you ignore the bigoted views that are shown everywhere within it and don’t take it seriously.

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good thriller, unnecessary social commentary

smartphone bad, mkay?
except most people don't spend their entire lives on smartphones like female lead did. the worst thing that could happen to most of us would be leaking our bank account and losing our savings, and that's only if we're using a bank app on the phone.

But social commentary aside, the movie is pretty good. The direction and cinematography is amazing and the feel is what you'd expect of the dark thriller/horror. Tension is almost always high, the pace is fast, and the music and color palette is appropriately dark.

That being said, predicting what's gonna happen next got a bit easy at the end of the movie, and it's a bit of a letdown we didn't learn more about the killer: the guy was very charismatic and frankly speaking I rooted for him more than the detective or fl. Oh well, guess this leaves an option of making a headcanon that he's the mc of strangers from hell several years later or something.

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