4 — Wednesday, January 19, 2022 
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com

By David Poole
(c)2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/19/22

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

01/19/22

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022

ACROSS

1 Breaks in 

relations

6 Update 

cartographically

11 Adorns with 

Charmin, for short

14 Basketball Hall 

of Famer __ 
Thomas

15 Sherlock Holmes’ 

younger sister 
as depicted in 
a recent Nancy 
Springer book 
series

16 Hot temper
17 Using any 

available means

20 He broke Babe’s 

record in 1974

21 Tulip-to-be
22 Kitchen protection
23 Rocks in a bar
24 “Miss Saigon” 

setting

25 Clear out
26 A college 

applicant may 
have to write one

28 City on the Ruhr
31 Roman 151
32 Ella’s forte
34 Strain
35 Swiss Army 

knife’s assortment

36 Dashboard 

gauges

39 Go for a rebound
42 Generation __
43 Opportunity 

metaphor

45 Ike’s WWII 

command

46 Heathcliff’s love
48 Future docs’ 

exams

51 Cassiterite, e.g.
53 A-lister
55 Govt. mortgage 

agcy.

56 Golf goof
57 Slangy sweeties
59 Stern’s opposite
60 Novelty piano 

piece of 1921 ... 
and a hint to this 
puzzle’s theme

63 Skater Midori
64 Old Venetian coin
65 Havana’s __ 

Castle

66 Leb. neighbor
67 Soliloquy site
68 Elizabeth of 

“WandaVision”

DOWN

1 Singer Lionel
2 Jason of “Harry 

Potter” films

3 Exercise goal
4 Thumb-pressed 

nail

5 Theater rebuke
6 Continue
7 Ltr. insert
8 Utah city with a 

Biblical name

9 __-rock: music 

genre

10 Game with 

ghosts and a 
maze

11 Tiny breath mints
12 Talk nonsense
13 Martial arts 

instructors

18 Attorney’s gp.
19 Juice box brand
24 Long-distance 

swimmer Diana

25 Perturbed
27 “Rent-__”: 1988 

film

29 Curry of the 

NBA’s Warriors

30 Warmed the 

bench

33 Senate cover-

ups?

35 Dream Team 

org.

37 Yoga surface
38 Frolic
39 Kawasaki 

watercraft

40 The U in “SUV”
41 Hall pass 

checker

44 Roof supports
46 Belief systems
47 “The Big Fib” 

host __ Nicole 
Brown

49 “And __ off!”
50 Biblical 

strongman

52 Fall mo.
54 Suffix like -like
57 Fla. resort
58 Toilets for T.S. 

Eliot?: Abbr.

59 Vodka brand that 

sounds like a 
toast

61 Trail mix morsel
62 Fall Out Boy 

genre

SUDOKU

WHISPER



WHISPER

By Craig Stowe
©2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/12/22

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

01/12/22

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022

ACROSS








 




 

fund



28 “La La Land” 


32 “1984” 


36 Also


41 “__ say!”








 







DOWN










 



29 Gulps
30 Squat








47 Waldo 






55 Bunch of 





Initially published in 2014, 

“Bungo Stray Dogs” is an ongoing 
manga series following Nakajima 
Atsushi, a homeless orphan in 
Japan. After getting kicked out of 
yet another orphanage and on the 
brink of starvation, he acciden-
tally stops the suicide of Detec-
tive Osamu Dazai. Upon learning 
that Atsushi can transform into 
a white tiger, Dazai recruits him 
into the Armed Detective Agen-
cy (ADA), a team of people with 
similar 
supernatural 
abilities. 

Finally part of a family, Atsushi 
and the rest of the ADA use their 
abilities to fight crime around 
Yokohama and meet other shape-
shifters in the process.

That’s just a little background. 

However, this article will not be 
focusing on the story itself, nor 
the characters. What’s special 
about “Bungo Stray Dogs” is the 
characters’ names, as most, if not 
all, characters are named after 
famous authors and poets. The 
abilities of the characters usu-
ally correspond with the literary 
styles or works of the person they 
are named after. Even the man-
ga’s title, “Bungo Stray Dogs,” 
incorporates literature: The word 
“bungo” translates to “literary” 
in English. 

By referencing these vari-

ous literary figures and works, 
“Bungo Stray Dogs” exposes its 
fans, specifically those from the 
West, to works of literature and 
authors they may never have 
heard of otherwise. Many of the 
main characters are named after 
Japanese authors and poets, so 
most western audience mem-
bers may have trouble recogniz-
ing their names and influences. 
However, the series also intro-
duces characters named after 
more well-known western fig-
ures: Edgar Allan Poe, Francis 
Fitzgerald and H.P. Lovecraft, for 
example. Once fans recognized 
that the characters were named 
after authors, they were quickly 
inspired to look into their vari-
ous works. This sparked a popu-
lar trend on TikTok in which fans 
bought the works of referenced 
authors. Many of these books 

have been integrated into fandom 
conversations. Author names are 
not the only literary reference 
within “Bungo Stray Dogs,” as 
some of its characters are based 
on figures from these novels or 
even the novels’ authors them-
selves. In this way, reading the 
works of the authors can help 
shed light on both the manga and 
its characters.

Many online phenomena have 

come about due to fans of the 
series becoming more familiar 
with the authors that characters 
are named after. For example, 
some fans have created entire 
blogs — such as Japanese Litera-
ture and Bungo Stray Dog Tum-
blr Blog and BSD Die Hard Fan 
Tumblr Blog — connecting Japa-
nese literature to the show, docu-
menting old photos of authors 
and detailing notable encounters 
that authors have had with each 
other. The two blogs above are 
actually the ones I used to learn 
more about the authors refer-
enced in BSD as well as the series 
as a whole. These blogs made 
it a lot easier to find informa-
tion about the authors and their 
works because it was all central-
ized in one place.

For me, finding new books to 

read is often difficult because I 
am very picky and the process of 
looking is too strenuous. Often I 
just give up, but having access to 
blogs like these or to TikTok cre-
ators that talk about the books has 
made that process of choosing my 
next book a lot easier. The overall 
influence of social media, specifi-
cally TikTok, is what introduced 
me to this manga series and, in 
turn, to many works of classic 
literature I was newly inspired 
to read. My introduction to these 
works is mainly attributed to 
fans of the series who go out of 
their way to create content about 
it in the form of art, edits, blogs 
or even analyses. Apart from fan 
creations, the show also motivat-
ed fans to read the literary works 
of authors both new and old. 
There are even living authors, 
such as Japanese mystery writers 
Yukito Ayatsuji and Natsuhiko 
Kyogoku, who are seeing benefits 
from references in BSD.

Prior to the release of the first 

season of “Cobra Kai” in 2018, 
fans of the original “Karate Kid” 
had played around with the idea 
that Johnny Lawrence (William 
Zabka, “The Man in the Silo”), 
long known as an antagonist, 
was in fact the tragic hero of the 
film. “How I Met Your Mother” 
brought the sentiment into the 
national pop culture conversation 
when Barney Stinson (Neil Pat-
rick Harris, “A Series of Unfor-
tunate Events”) endorsed the 
stance.

When the first episode of 

“Cobra Kai” reintroduced mid-
dle-aged Johnny as a co-protag-
onist, perhaps even more focal 
to the story than Daniel LaRusso 
(Ralph Macchio, “Kevin Can 
Wait”), the intended hero of “The 
Karate Kid,” it felt natural. Since 
its inception, “Cobra Kai” has 
sought to blur the line between 
good guys and bad guys and 
instead treat each of its characters 
as authentic, flawed individuals. 
Now in its fourth season, “Cobra 
Kai” has mastered this formula, 
leading to one of the most binge-
able and entertaining seasons of 
television in recent memory. 

Season four picks up right 

where season three left off; John-
ny and Daniel have joined forces 
to create a unified dojo to rival 
Johnny’s sinister and manipula-
tive former sensei, John Kreese 
(Martin Kove, “Once Upon a 
Time in Hollywood”), and his 
Cobra Kai dojo. The stakes are 
high with a bet in place between 
Daniel and Johnny and Kreese: 
If one of Daniel’s or Johnny’s stu-
dents wins the All-Valley Karate 
Tournament, Kreese will quit 
teaching karate for good, and 
vice-versa. Throughout the sea-
son, Johnny and Daniel struggle 

to reconcile their opposite styles 
of karate, based on offense and 
defense respectively. This dif-
ference of opinion is exacerbated 
by Johnny’s abrasive nature and 
Daniel’s my-way-or-the-highway 
attitude. 

Meanwhile, 
the 
students 

— 
Miguel 
(Xolo 
Maridueña, 

“Cleopatra in Space”), Johnny’s 
star pupil and surrogate son, 
Sam (Mary Mouser, “Gates of 
Darkness”), 
Daniel’s 
student 

and daughter, Robby (Tanner 
Buchanan, 
“He’s 
All 
That”), 

Cobra Kai’s best fighter and 
Johnny’s estranged son and Tory 
(Peyton List, “Light as a Feath-
er”), a self-reliant and resentful 
girl who Kreese takes under his 
wing — struggle with their iden-
tities. While these are the series’ 
main characters, season four fea-
tures a hefty amount of notable 
supporting characters, including 
Kenny Payne (Dallas Young, “The 
Big Show Show”), a good-hearted 
eighth-grader who turns to Cobra 
Kai after dealing with incessant 
bullying and Terry Silver (Thom-

as Ian Griffith, “The Pirate’s 
Curse”), Kreese’s diabolical part-
ner in “The Karate Kid Part III.”

The writers impressively bal-

ance the arcs of each of its numer-
ous characters. With the season 
clocking in at approximately five 
hours long, there isn’t a second to 
spare in getting every character 
to their final destination by the 
end of episode ten. In every scene, 
characters push one another to 
the next step of their develop-
ment. However, none of the prom-
inent characters are there solely 
as a vehicle for another. Each one 
has their own valid aspirations, 
fears and goals. No matter how 
seemingly evil or unlikeable a 
character is, they all have genuine 
intentions that we understand. 
Even if we don’t want them to 
achieve their specific visions of 
success, we are still rooting for 
them to end up in the best place 
possible.

Therefore, 
dilemmas 
arise 

when the interests of characters 
are at direct odds with one anoth-
er, each plotline intersecting in a 

neat pretzel. The show cleverly 
uses our desire for each charac-
ter to come out on top to keep us 
engaged and pressing play on the 
next episode. As inevitable com-
plications arise, driving charac-
ters further apart, we can’t help 
but keep watching to see how 
everything resolves. 

Many fans watch “Cobra Kai” 

for the badass fighting scenes, 
80’s nostalgia or goofy humor. 
These are definitely all great 
aspects of the show. Even so, 
the heartbeat of the show is its 
nuanced approach to the char-
acters. There is no simple ending 
where the heroes overcome the 
villains. In a show without the 
concept of heroes and villains, the 
only happy ending is one in which 
every character finds peace. 
Needless to say, season four of 
“Cobra Kai” leaves us on the edge 
of our seats, waiting for that glo-
rious moment to arrive in future 
seasons.

Daily Arts Writer Aidan Har-

ris can be reached at harrisai@
umich.edu.

‘Cobra Kai’ season four goes above and 

beyond in fulfilling its premise

How ‘Bungo Stray Dogs’ 

introduces literature classics 

to fans worldwide

AIDAN HARRIS
Daily Arts Writer

 K RODRIGUEZ-GARCIA

Daily Arts Writer

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

 ‘Mouth to Mouth’ 

needs to resuscitation

Antoine Wilson’s “Mouth to 

Mouth” is a storytelling triumph. 
Published in early January, this 
novel is intentional, focused 
and expertly delivered. Wilson 
captures the reader’s attention 
from the beginning and holds it 
all the way to the end. “Mouth 
to Mouth” lies somewhere in 
between a fable and traditional 
literary fiction but pushes past 
the limits of both genres to create 
something that leaves the reader 
questioning their own morality. 

Essentially, “Mouth to Mouth” 

is a story within a story. The 
novel opens with our narrator 
in JFK Airport, waiting to board 
his flight. By chance, he hears the 
name of Jeff Cook, encountering 
an old acquaintance from UCLA 
who happens to be boarding the 
same plane. In the narrator’s own 
words, “We hadn’t been friends, 
exactly, barely acquaintances, but 
Jeff was one of those minor play-
ers from the past who claimed 
for himself an outsize role in my 
memories.” After their shared 
flight was delayed, Jeff and our 
narrator decide to get a drink 
while waiting. Through their 
conversations, Jeff steers the 
discussion towards talking about 
near-death experiences, eventu-
ally telling our narrator, “I ended 
up in close proximity to one once. 
Not long after college, in fact, a 
year or so later. I was, through 
no planning or forethought on 
my part, responsible for saving a 
man’s life.” 

This “near-death experience” 

came to Jeff while on an early 
morning beach walk to clear his 
head. Coming off the heels of an 
intense breakup, Jeff was seeking 
clarity on his expedition. While 
there, Jeff comes across a man 

floating face down in the ocean. 
Jeff quickly decides he would 
rather not be a bystander to 
another man’s death and pulls the 
stranger out of the water and uses 
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to 
save his life. Once the lifeguards 
come, Jeff is quickly pushed aside 
to allow the medics to care for 
the stranger. Jeff is obviously 
shaken up from this experience, 
especially after already being in 
a fragile emotional state from the 
breakup; in the week that follows, 
Jeff finds himself borderline 
obsessed with discovering the 
identity of this man, going back 
to the site of the event and talking 
to the lifeguards who helped save 
the stranger. This event turns out 
to be the catalyst for what comes 
next in Jeff’s story.

After getting the swimmer’s 

name — Francis Arsenault — 
and address from the lifeguard, 
Jeff’s curiosity grows, leading 
him to drive to Francis’s house. 
Jeff finds that the address the 
lifeguard gave was for a house 
Francis was building. Without a 
Francis sighting as he had hoped, 
Jeff decides to look him up online 
and finds out Francis works as 
an art gallery owner. Jeff then 
begins to purposely put himself 
in positions to cross paths with 
Francis, hoping the man will 
recognize him. Without giving 
too much away, Jeff entrenches 
himself deeply into Francis’s life, 
beginning with getting a job as 
a receptionist at Francis’s gal-
lery. Jeff’s story only grows more 
warped and complex, eventually 
leading to an unexpected final 
twist. Wilson’s masterful plot 
development is one of the main 
reasons “Mouth to Mouth” is 
such a strong novel.

 ISABELLA KASSA 

Daily Arts Writer

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

This image is from the official trailer for “Cobra Kai,” distributed by Netflix.

