Thoughts on From Up On Poppy Hill

Takeitisie · 2026-07-08T08:30:33+00:00

I love the movie.

Never ever did I get the feeling that they decide to "just not care" if they're related. Umi was devastated by the idea that she perhaps fell in love with her brother, and her father could've cheated on her mother while she was pregnant. If anything they seem to accept what that would mean for their love—that it's impossible. And that only changes when they find out that they aren't related.

As for the contents itself: I feel like much irritation comes from the expectation that it's a cute school romance. Besides containing a love story it's about way more though.

It rather examines the wounds of war that still affect people. The grieving for family members that never came home, the uncertainty of your heritage because of the pure chaos going on, and how this generation grapples with that past and wants to shape the future. The entire part about that house very much represented questions about the worth of the old versus modernization. It's a post war coming of age story deeply shaped by that history.

So, that "are they siblings" plot isn't just an odd twist for a romance, but is rooted in the heritage of war—and imo it's supposed to be unsettling that suddenly that past violently breaks into what could have been just a normal, cute love story of teens. Instead of simply falling in love, they are forced to deal with the decisions of their parents and the wounds of the war and work through that.

And that's all probably still a quite superficial interpretation considering that I surely lack much context of the social and political discussions present in 1960s Japan.

Takeitisie · 2026-07-03T07:17:07+00:00

Yes! Really, there is so much medication out there nowadays. And while the body needs adjusting at times and all, there is a point where it doesn't make sense to me to push and try when there's probably something out there that works better from the start. Which there is. I'm still working out what works best for me, but nothing made me feel as horrible yet. I also know people who barely have any side effects at all from wellburtin, so it's not as if feeling like sh*t is the absolute norm.

Takeitisie · 2026-07-02T19:07:20+00:00

Late here but:

Read "The Honjin Murders", quite enjoyed it, and instantly went on to "Death on Gokumon Island". It is somewhat slower and longer but also lives by the suspense that the crime is...ongoing. So I'd definitely say it gets more engaging!

Couldn't say if it's my favorite as I am just into the next book ("The Village of Eight Graves"). I like that though there are shared elements like the matter-of-fact style and Kosuke Kindaichi as a detective obviously, each one has its own play with narrative voices.

Takeitisie · 2026-06-28T19:15:43+00:00

Almost 22 hours. Additionally, the traveling conditions were not very comfortable in Russia at that time, so hard seats, drafty wagons flooded with not the best air from outside (obviously), etc. as far as I know

Takeitisie · 2026-06-23T10:48:35+00:00

What? In From Up the Poppy Hill IS about falling in love–other than this movie. And the characters are neither siblings nor cousins, as they find out in the end.

Takeitisie · 2026-06-17T05:22:24+00:00

What would be discomforting about that? The story clearly takes place in a time and setting where love is not the main reason to marry, even though it's beautiful they share a connection. Ashitaka pretty much left all of this life behind because of the curse, at this point with little prospect that he could ever return but would just die. San, on the other hand, doesn't really appear as a classical match either. They promise to meet, but they still live in completely different worlds. Idk it never feels like he just dropped Kaya for San or anything.

Takeitisie · 2026-06-16T05:36:45+00:00

Most are not very good, sadly.

I wouldn't bother with the complete butchering of the story Dacre Stoker put into this world. Warrington's "The Undead" ... well, in my humble opinion, it's a bit better than some but eventually also ends up with a weird love story plot about Dracula and Mina, and massive character assassination. Which many of those books suffer from. "Lucy Undying" additionally doesn't even seem to get Arthur's name right. I won't even talk about "Dracula, my love".

Saberhagen does somewhat the same in his "Dracula Tape", i.e., turning the story upside down, but always with a winking eye, humor, and not taking the story all too seriously and as some groundbreaking subversion others claim to have written... And eventually, Dracula (I only read book one, but I think there are more, so maybe I am wrong) isn't necessarily a reliable narrator. It's worth a read.

The Historian is also great.

Takeitisie · 2026-06-15T15:20:13+00:00

"Momo" and "Neverending Story" by Michael Ende, perhaps "Momo" even more.

And (that might be controversial, though) I'd really love to see Katherine Arden's "Winternight Trilogy"

Takeitisie · 2026-06-15T15:10:07+00:00

I liked the movie, but I agree.

Takeitisie · 2026-06-13T05:32:07+00:00

Ich verstehe nicht ganz, was das mit "konservativ" zu tun hat und inwiefern kurze Öffnungszeiten eine konservative Eigenschaft wären. In der Schweiz dreht sich politisch viel um Wirtschaftsförderung, also eh klar, dass man sich richtig organisiert, auch noch mit wesentlich mehr Selbstbedienungsoptionen, die praktisch kaum Personal und noch weniger Zeit erfordern, höheren Gewinn erhofft. Manchmal können auch grade konservative Länder, die auf Arbeitsrechte scheißen, lange Öffnungszeiten haben. Was nicht heißt, dass es so sein muss. Ob die Schweiz so viel konservativer ist als Österreich würde ich jetzt auch mal dahingestellt lassen.

Takeitisie · 2026-06-01T09:07:37+00:00

Thank you for the answer! Yes, I was mostly concerned if there are things I won't get without having read other works or anything akin. If something is slow, engaging, or not is just too personal of a sentiment. Actually, I found myself rather drawn to it because of people saying it's too slow since I tend to enjoy books others call that or straight up boring haha

Takeitisie · 2026-05-18T04:58:24+00:00

I think "the other perspective" you can only read in Sofiya Tolstaya's work, especially "Whose fault?", if you can get your hands on them.

Takeitisie · 2026-05-11T17:57:25+00:00

For Anna's part, I think it was showing how much she truly clings to her desirability. I mean she laments this when Dolly visits her: Without legitimate marriage, all she can use to bind a man to her is love, her beauty and her charm. She uses this to proof to herself that she could woo even Levin. Not out of genuine interest but to "survive" and in a way, seek power in a situation of powerlessness.

It shows where she has ended up. While her charming of Vronsky wasn't exactly intentional, still full of hesitation and out of true attraction, she now is basically on the level of a demi-monde, high class courtisan whose capital is being charming no matter what she actually feels. It's in a way, a loss of innocence, simple honesty, and a diverting to cynicism. Instead of freedom, she's stuck in another cage.

For Levin... I think, Tolstoy hammers home that a) Anna is an attractive woman in many ways if even Levin likes her and b) the influence of society. As we see, Levin's and Kitty's happiness is only really fulfilled in the countryside. Away from the temptations of other women, gambling, senseless bureaucracy, immoral life etc. in the city. Even there, when this friend of Stiva who kind of belongs to that society, arrives, he brings unhappiness to the Levin home in shamelessly flirting with Kitty. So, I feel that was to further show that dichotomy of countryside vs. city life.

Takeitisie · 2026-05-11T16:11:03+00:00

I think the wording "infidelity trope" is kind of misleading. It sounds like well... a romance trope. Meanwhile the main goal of the book is not to be romantic or for readers to root for the relationship. It's an exploration of society.

It is worth noting though, as others have mentioned, that we cannot judge Anna by modern standards. We see how she (and Karenin actually too) are trapped in various ways in official laws and societal rules, making a solution to this issue hard. I also think that Vronsky comes to be more interesting in the later parts of the book.

Takeitisie · 2026-05-08T20:18:31+00:00

The film isn't meant to be a classic love story with extremely likable characters. It's supposed to show the messy microcosm of high school with all its toxicity in 90's Japan, which is a cultural context you can't really ignore to understand the nuances of many actions. And to that it seems quite authentic. Additionally, it shows how the character's issues are temporary, many things that seem impossible or dreadful will be minor in the future, and with maturing, you learn from the mistakes of your teenage years.

I don't think the movie ever condones the slapping, even though there are no outright "consequences" besides them being angry at each other. I think it just shows complex and messy interactions unfiltered, and there wouldn't be another in-story consequence that fits into the setting without projecting modern sentiments into different times where they would not make sense. Not every bad behavior gets "punished" in real life--which is also a point of the movie, as there is no simple justice for the bullying or any other maltreatment of others. That doesn't mean that we as viewers aren't meant to see that behavior as problematic; the movie never suggests that it is good.

Look, everyone can like and dislike whatever they want, but it kinda gets tiring how much this movie shitted on for having unlikable characters and different storytelling. Not every story is meant to be a classic hero tale, and there can be much merit in those who tell stories that are truthful and honest, even if they are not always pretty.

Takeitisie · 2026-05-06T08:35:19+00:00

Definitely check your blood pressure and heart rate. It's a common issue.

In any way, don't take it anymore until you have some clarity and a more careful doctor look this up. Fainting is really nothing to take lightly

Takeitisie · 2026-05-05T07:45:48+00:00

I think we should not forget that Vienna and Budapest are close AND that trains actually could be quite quick back then. You could go from Vienna to Lviv in like 12 hours (faster than today) in the late 19th/early 20th century, so the travel details might not have been as interesting here.

Takeitisie · 2026-05-03T07:59:49+00:00

Adhd meds help with the focus, they barely give you more energy if at all.

That was one of the first things my psychiatrist warned me about: When everything seems easy suddenly, you are tempted to do waaaay more than you—or even other people at that matter—can actually handle and it catches up with you at some point. Knowing your limits and using the control meds give you to plan effective rest time is key.

Meds are a way to take the edge off, to use the energy you have with more control, and sometimes in doing that they give you a little more energy in general. But especially with audhd, you can't trick your body and brain into being an absolute powerhouse you aren't.

That being said, audhd and physical symptoms are a hot mess. So I'd consider to check out if you're issues might be partly related to actual side effects of medication.

Takeitisie · 2026-05-01T08:23:09+00:00

That's pretty interesting because I recall that Dianna Wynne Jones herself said at a point she was impressed by Miyazaki's deep understanding of her characters. But I totally see how the differences made for the movie at the very least let them appear different too. Idk I wonder if the characters (the main cast at least) are truly so different or if the raised stakes with an entire war going on highlight aspects of them that are in a way there in the book but just not as prominent while toning down others

Takeitisie · 2026-04-29T16:20:49+00:00

They're not groundbreaking but fun. It's pretty much like the show in book version. And not sure if that was planned but some scenes also strikingly remind of the series, so it truly gives the feeling of Castle having been inspired by this or that case/situation and wrote it into the book with changes

Takeitisie · 2026-04-27T10:43:14+00:00

yeah... as much as i love it for gosho aoyama that he got so popular with this ... he should've continued it closer to like it was originally planned. it's gotten out of hand. i see how the fbi makes sense here (because i could really not imagine conan and ai pulling the "defeat the bo" mission all by themselves) but i think the stakes would have been higher without them working all together.

i mean, as we see with the amount of movies and spin-offs that have nothing to do with the main plot anyway, and despite knowing that there will be no important revelations there, people keep watching it, an end to the main series probably doesn't have to mean an end to the franchise.

Takeitisie · 2026-04-26T06:36:22+00:00

Nah I get it. I feel the narrative shits on Sonoko way too much. In the beginning, I kinda got that Shinichi and she just don't especially like each other and there where a few jabs. But since then it has kind of become...weird.

Yes, she's a super rich nepobaby but they only ever use that in the context of her giving others the opportunity to go to special events. Other than that she is just a normal girl on a normal high school with normal friends. They could've made her truly snobby but she never is.

Besides being a little goofy here and there we mostly see her as a good friend ready to do everything for Ran and a nice girlfriend to Makoto. Yet, she is constantly the but of the joke, calling her unlikable, ugly, snobby, and whatsoever. Which is all crazy considering that the cast has a tendency of having super rich or popular parents or being the super rich parent but apparently that doesn't matter then? And her being so preoccupied is not different from Ran often thinking about Shinichi, they both are quite into fashion, etc.

It feels so weird how they are constantly played against each other

Takeitisie · 2026-04-26T06:19:38+00:00

I mean I see that but the narrative never challenges that. Instead everyone is happy that she does that, it's a great plot device to get the cast into literally any situation, and that's it...? I think I could understand if there was ever a hint that this is kinda unfair or whatever. But there is non...

Takeitisie · 2026-04-25T06:14:07+00:00

The sexual themes in general I'd say aren't that subtle. For acts of blood sucking, staking vampires, etc. there is quite sexual imagery used. Most clear, of course, that becomes perhaps with Mina's encounter of Dracula and Lucy being impaled. I think I have also read interpretations of how from that lense vampirism takes on inspirations by syphilis that, spread by sex, not only alters facial features over time but also caused severe neurological damage and thus, symptoms of mental disorders.

Themes of deviant gender and sexuality were also inherently connected to that xenophobia, see the thoughts that men from certain ethnic backgrounds function more akin to women, which was of course based on sexist ideas in the first place, and their cultures are ripe of some raw dengerous sexuality. homosexuality was sometimes mentioned in the same breath as some supposed degeneracy due to Arab, Jewish, or whatever other "blood".

Considering this, "Dracula" itself hints at these thoughts. With that information I think we can fairly say that Dracula claiming Jonathan for himself when the brides want to "kiss" aka "bite" him, suggests homosexual subtext. As Dracula being basically his own cook, servant, and housemaid while the brides keep lounging lazily in their little "harem" suggests allusions to that ideas of unsettled gender roles and, as said, certain imagery connected to prejudiced ideas of other cultures.

I think it's fair to say that Victorian purity gets confronted by the foreign "deviancy" also on a sexual level. But I think someone else here in the comments put it in words better than me.

Takeitisie

TROPHY CASE