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.