I really wanted to lean into a mix of genres on Netflix this weekend—a dose of anime, a bit of drama, and the macabre. This weekend, I’ll be diving headfirst into shows with an emphasis on conflict.
Also Stream on Crunchyroll and Disney+
Equivalent exchange is the law of the land; something cannot be created from nothing. After a failed attempt at human transmutation, the Elric brothers train to become State Alchemists—dogs of the military—in order to learn everything they can about the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. It is rumored that the stone can ignore the law of equivalent exchange and even bring people back from the dead.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood comes as close to the perfect anime as you can get—voice acting, intelligent dialogue, really cool lore, awesome fight scenes, very touching moments, and perfectly-timed humor. The way the Elric brothers manipulate the world with their powers also never scales to ridiculous heights, nor are they always the answer to their problems.
I patiently waited for both seasons two and three to be available before I binged Squid Game, especially after the way the first season ended on a well-deserved cliffhanger. Seong (played by Lee Jung-jae) is at a very low point in his life, with gambling debt piling up and being unable to see his daughter. By chance, he gambles on a simple game, leading to an opportunity to play games with larger prize earnings. Seong takes it and quickly learns it’s a game of survival.
I’ve never walked away from a series enjoying the stress it caused me, but Squid Game somehow managed. Though I feel Lee Jung-jae is partly responsible for this, with a combination of Seong’s backstory. Lee gives such an excellent performance that you can’t help but feel his anguish, anxiety, and stress trying to stay alive. And it helps that Seong, although indebted to loan sharks, is risking his life for his daughter, making him instantly relatable. I’m so excited for seasons two and three!
Also Stream on Paramount+
Yellowjackets is a dark and rather disturbing tale of a group of young girls trying to survive in the wilds of Canada and the psychological damage it causes them. I like a good mystery to unravel, especially one that involves bouncing back and forth between the past and present until all the pieces of the story are in place.
So far, Yellowjackets has been doing this really well by using past events to emphasize choices the characters make in the present, or how that experience changed them. The cast here is also pretty darn stellar: Ella Purnell, Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, and even Elijah Wood. The same goes for the cast playing the teenage counterparts, and I can’t wait to see how deep into madness they’ll fall.
For fans of horror, death, the strange, and the macabre, Junji Ito knows how to strike fear into his dear readers. Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre turns Junji Ito’s manga into fully-realized anime, and I waited until I read every story featured in the show before I finally put it on my weekend binge list.
I’ve already watched half of the season, and I can’t express how much I love seeing another avenue for experiencing Junji Ito’s work. The stories range from grotesque creatures to existential dread, but all are just as twisted as the ones before. For example, one episode involves a girl finding a younger version of herself underneath her skin, while another revolves around a house sprouting tendrils of hair.
When Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) suddenly “leaps” to a different period in time, his friends and colleagues scramble to figure out why. Unfortunately, Ben is experiencing amnesia from quantum leaping, so he isn’t sure either, but what they do know is that Ben must figure out what moment in history he has to alter so he can be sent back home. For fans of the original Quantum Leap, Netflix’s version is actually a continuation, but it isn’t required viewing if you’re otherwise new to the series.
As someone who has had limited exposure to the original series, I went into this with fresh eyes, so I’m in a bit of a unique position. Quantum Leap is a little rocky at first, especially the breakneck speed of the first episode, but once the third episode kicked in, I got really comfortable with the characters, the cheesiness, and the campiness of the show. And although I dislike amnesia as a writing tool, it works well here as both a way to explain the premise to a new audience and differentiate from Sam Beckett’s experience.
With conflict being heavily emphasized in my picks, Quantum Leap really helps round out the edges on an otherwise edgy, dark weekend. If you’d prefer something happier and upbeat, there are numerous documentaries that will give you hope, or maybe a cozy crime show to help you wind down.
