POMNI WAKE UP TIME TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE

 HELLLOOOO BLOGGGGGG!!!!!!! Happy Saturday! :D It is currently 9:26AM and I just recently got out of bed like 20 mins ago and took a shower! WAHOO! I feel so awesome and refreshed and ready to write this blog post, go eat breakfast, and then write more of this blog post :D 

Speaking of which! Today's post is gonna be the last for this week, and the last of researching media texts! Next week I'm gonna have to dive into social media pages, so this is officially gonna be the final time you'll see me yapping about absolute BALL. I am so glad we chose to do a dark comedy because literally all of my favorite pieces of media fall under that genre in one way or another. 

OKOK! So with all that being said, today we're gonna talk all about The Amazing Digital Circus, a YouTube series that recently got added to Netflix (GOOO TEAMMMM!!) and Parasite, literally the greatest movie of all time. VAMONOS AMIGOS!!

THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS (2023)!

If you ever went up to me one random day and asked me "yo emi what's your favorite show ever of all time" I would immediately respond with "THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!" Unlike some of the other media texts I've talked to you guys about, this is the piece that I am most familiar with as I have watched every episode some once, some twice, and some thrice!! I am still an avid follower and currently waiting for episode 8 to drop later in March! (YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYA) 

I first got blessed by the great presence of this show way back in October of 2023 when I was a freshie. I clearly remember sitting in the auditorium, doing some homework as that was my study hall period, and suddenly seeing my friend at the time pulling out his computer and beginning to watch this very colorful looking YouTube video with a bunch of kooky looking characters who seem quite distressed. Obviously, I was immediately intrigued and put my hw to the side for a bit and watched along with him :D From then on, I was HOOKED!! The characters, the humor, the animation, and the plot really REALLY stood out to me, and I wanted nothing but to watch much much more.

Now that the plot was recently just mentioned, it's time I tell you all what the helly this thang is about so you don't like explode or something! HOLD YOUR HORSES

Directed and created by the most amazing Gooseworx and distributed by GLITCH productions, TADC is a psychological dark comedy/thriller that follows a woman who gets suddenly transported into a new crazy wacky world after putting on a strange headset. As we all probably would, she begins freaking the freak out and immediately starts looking for an exit. Unfortunately for her though, she gets told by other humans, who have been in the same exact situation for years, that she's basically cooked with no way out, just like they all are! :D YAYYY!!!

The woman then receives a new name, Pomni, after being introduced to the entire new world by ringmaster/AI, Caine. To keep everybody from going insane, Caine sends everybody in the circus on daily adventures, and Pomni has just become a new character in his cast! From then on, Pomni and the rest of the humans are sent on the wackiest, unfathomable side quests of all time and have existential breakdowns and stuff like that :D It gets pretty dang awesome :DD

Alsoalso, just because I'm gonna probably be referring to the rest of the characters in the show a lot, I'm gonna give them a nice introduction by showing you the TADC theme song played in the very first ep of the series! It's fun, it's catchy, and Pomni herself isn't featured in it until the very end because she didn't spawn in yet :D And Kaufmo died :DD By abstraction :D Which is basically just when you get so INSANE you begin to transform into a big scary, incomprehensible, distorted version of yourself :DDDD More on that later :DDDDDDDDD

(GLITCH Productions, 2023)

MEET THE CAST!! 

From here, Pomni comes a long way from being the scared, freaked out, "holy helly what's going on I'm literally gonna die and take you all along with me" type of character to a more level headed, genuine, kind person to all members of the circus along with herself!

In the first episode it was made very very clear that Pomni was scared of losing it and dying due to abstraction and in the beginning of the second episode it was made even clearer that she was petrified of abstraction ALONG with being forgotten and thrown away by the circus gang and Caine himself, which is a very reasonable, realistic fear to have when you're trapped in a digital world with complete strangers and seemingly no way out. 

By the end of episode two though, after attending Kaufmo's funeral along with the rest of the characters (except for Jax) (the purple rabbit guy if u forgor), Pomni eventually realizes that she's not in this crazy wacky circus thing alone. She has other people alongside her going through the exact same situation and they all have something to bond over because of that. Even if they are strangers, they still have a beautiful connection to foster and cultivate with one another. From even then on, Pomni progressively becomes closer with all of them, finding more and more purpose to just keep on living normally, even while knowing she might not actually be able to escape her current very strange life, and that's something so very beautiful to me :] Below I'll embed some super awesome videos to show you everything that I just talked about :DD And to also kinda get you to watch Digital Circus :D This is NOT an ad :DD

GLITCH Productions (2023)

Pomni being very obviously disturbed when Caine treats Kaufmo's abstraction like nothing

GLITCH Productions (2024)

Pomni's "holy shit I'm gonna die and everybody's gonna forget me" nightmare

GLITCH Productions (2024)

Kaufmo's funeral and Pomni realizing she's not alone :]

I truly really adore how this show represents and deals with heavy themes like existentialism, mental fragility, and the power/complexities of genuine human connection :D Similar to Dan Da Dan, this show is SO incredibly kooky yet so deeply profound. Within literally every single episode, all 7 of them, no matter how batshit insane it gets, there are always serious themes and genuine conversations implemented into them to build upon character bonds and communicate/connect to audiences the significance of human connection within a stagnant, meaningless life.

 LIKE LOOK AT THIS 

THESE CLIPS ARE IN THE SAME EPISODE

 (that being episode 5) (my absolute favorite) (go watch it now or I'll turn your pillow over to the hot side)

GLITCH Productions (2025)

INTERMISSION TIMEEEEEE

GLITCH Productions (2025)

Pomni and Jax have a deep talk during a stargazing adventure

AND LOOK AT THESE!!

SAME EPISODE!!

GLITCH Productions (2025)

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

GLITCH Productions (2025)

I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE READY FOR MY RICOCHET SUPER MOVE!!

GLITCH Productions (2025)

this made me cry

Yeah you should get the point by now :D There's comedy and silliness ALL over this show but when it's time to lock in, it LOCKS TF IN. That's what makes this show ESPECIALLY stand out to so many people, because the entirety of this piece, despite the crazy ass circus setting and character designs and just everything, it just still feels SO REAL (!!!!) This is obviously in terms of character dynamics and personalities and dialogue and how they are genuinely represented as actual real people with genuine flaws and issues within their personal lives and mental health.

So many people are so drawn to TADC because of just how relatable it can be, and that means so much as a member of the audience :DDD Taking every single aspect of this show into consideration, I'd like our film to be majorly goofy comedy while also writing the serious themes of power and religion all over it! 

However, in contrast to the most Amazing Digital Circus, I'd rather we instead be profound visually more than with dialogue. Otto will be shown rather than told getting more and more batshit insane and more and more possessed by the devil as the piece goes on just to get her promised power get taken away from her at the end of the film. This leaves her on the ground, traumatized, confused, and wondering what the fuck all of the crazy wacky antics she just did was all for. This for sure is NOT final but a concept like this is something I'd like to go for :DDD But obviously there's so much story for us to fill out. Let us cook for a sec :DD Just you wait Cambridge :DDDD

(Art by sunny-knight on Tumblr!)

One last aspect of TADC that I think is pretty worth talking about is our lovely AI ringmaster, Caine :D Pictured above in that lovely fanart, he is a weird looking pair of teeth with a hat and awesome suit, and all he does for the circus and send the characters on silly goofy wacky adventures to keep them in check!

WAIT HOLD ON BEFORE YOU CONTINUE THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS BELOW THIS DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY THINKING OF WATCHING THIS SHOW WITHOUT ANY SPOILERS NO THIS DOESN'T COUNT FOR THE EXAMINERS OR TSTOK U GUYS HAVE TO GIVE ME A GRADE YAYYYYYYYY PARTAY PARTAY OKOK CONTINUING

As the show progresses though, the people of the circus begin to loathe the adventures he keeps sending them on. This then sends Caine into a crisis of his own, as he wants to make everybody in the circus happy but is constantly failing at doing just that. He glitches out, he gets more unhinged, and he's looking more and more for human approval to keep him sane. In episode 7 though, Caine takes the adventure a little bit too far. He knows DANGGGG well that everybody in the circus one way or another wants OUT and so because of that he was all like "OOOO I SHOULD MAKE AN ADVENTURE WHERE THEY PLAN TO ESCAPE THE CIRCUS! YEAHHH!! YEAHHHHHH!" 

no. 

this fucked up the circus gang real bad 

GLITCH Productions (2025)

just look at them yo

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAWNDHAHAFBGHSBWAHSBHSDBGHFNBJKSFGJJKNKJAAialsogotfuckeduprealbaddudewhattheactualhellywasthisepisodeigenuinelythoughtheywereabouttoleaveigotbamboozledsobad

look listen Caine is just an AI trying to do his job correctly while having little to no understanding of genuine human emotion. In his little robotic mind, he thought what he was doing was right, because it was something that the humans would like since that's what they wanted for so long. Howwweverr there is debate whether or not this was an adventure or something real that Caine put a pause to.

 Here's where it gets interesting and what makes the people of the audience REALLY think. In the control room, there were two buttons that Caine provided, red and blue (kinda like the matrix oooo wowowowowoowwoowoowowowowo i never watched that movie before) If they picked blue, the gang would leave the circus and if they picked red, that means they stay there forever. Last minute though, Pomni gets scared and starts thinking that they adventure went through might have been a trap, but suddenly, after having intense flashbacks to his past in the real world, Jax presses the red button. 

What would have happened if Jax never pressed the red button?? What if he pressed blue? Would they have actually left? WHY did Jax have flashbacks to his life outside the circus??? Did Caine infiltrate his mind and control him so he could press the red button?? SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO LITTLE ANSWERS!!!! WATCH EPISODE 8 WHEN IT COMES OUT EVERYBODY WE MUST HAVE ANSWERS AGAIN THIS IS NOT AN AD I SWEAR THIS IS NOT AN AD

okay im locked back in. After the events of episode 7, the fandom has been divided up to Caine haters and Caine defenders. TADC's next episode will come out in late March to probably confirm or give more clues towards the truth but as for now, we can only assume and say that either Caine made a what he thought was a harmless adventure or he actually stopped the circus members from escaping because without them he'll have no job and therefore no purpose as an AI in a video game. THIS SHOW GETS PRETTY DEEP PEOPLE! I'm still thinking about the possibilities to this day!!! Down below I'll embed a video of the scene I just talked about, it has everybody who's ever watched it rethink Caine's entire character.

GLITCH Productions (2025)

batshit insanity

Everything leading up to this scene was Caine getting more and more unhinged, more glitchy and more desperate for human approval. He started the show off as a seemingly happy go lucky AI ringleader who could do no wrong but what he did here was objectively SO WRONG. Again, whether Caine wanted to make an actual adventure or not, this doesn't take away from the fact that even he himself is going down a rabbit hole of deep insanity kinda like the circus members, except with no genuine human connection or validation to keep him sane.

 

Pinterest (2024)

There are significant flaws in Caine's character that get more prominent and more recognized as the show goes on, and that's surely inspiration that I'd love to take for our short film :D I'm thinking of possibly portraying the devil (disguised), Annie Christopher, as a nice happy go lucky guy that's just trying to spread around something he's passionate about which in this case is his new religion. As Otto continues to carry out his tasks to receive the power she was promised, though, he progressively gets more aggressive and way more insistent on spreading around his shit cause uh oh! Plot twist!! All the power that Otto is garnering?? THATS FOR HIM!!! Annie wants so much power that he revs up the intensity of Otto's activities, betraying her in the end and running off with everything he promised her :D Cool beans right :D Again, NOT set in stone but it's the genuine thought and consideration that counts :D Please give me an A :D

PHHEWWWW! HOLY YAP! I am literally just scraping the tippy top of the surface with this show, but this is all that I have to say and analyze about it in regards to our own film :]] 

Seeing how there were like no in text citations (excluding videos and images) throughout this entire section really goes to show just how much of a Digital Circus enjoyer I am and how freaking INVESTED I am in every little thing it has to offer. The story isn't over yet! So before things wrap up this year with the releases of the last 2 episodes, I'd definitely go ahead and give the series a watch if I were you THIS IS NOT AN AD 

PARASITE (2019)

Okie dokes! Almost done everybody! This film is our last hurrah before next week :DD Before I'd start I'd just like to say

THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME.

To the far right of your screen you'll be able to see all my favorite films! Even though some are outdated as I wrote everything on there a whole year ago, Parasite still remains to be an absolute all time favorite of mine.

I watched it last year here in my lovely home with my father one day and my whole brain chemistry changed right after it. It was to the point where I recommended it to my AS Media class!! And I RARELY recommend!! THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW THIS WAS GOOD!!

So what the helly is it about? WAIITT WAIITTTTT CHILLL CHILLLLLLL 

i zoned out

DUDDEEEEEEEEEEEE ITS ALMOST SPRING CAN YOU BELIEVE IT

lala dee lalalaa doo lalala mee elalal youuu 

ALMOST COME ON LETS GO 

SIGMA MODE ACTIVATED !!!!!

Parasite (2019) follows a poor family, the Kims, consisting of a mother, father, and two children, living within the streets of Seoul looking for good money. To get a job at a super duper mega mansion, the son secures a job as a tutor for the super duper mega mansion family's daughter by getting help from his sister to forge a fake resume. Chaos then absolutely ENSUES as the Kim family knocks down the already established workers for the Park family and takes over allll their occupations. It's funny, it's crazy, and most of all, in hindsight and in deep analysis at the very same time, it is DARKKKKKK

Unlike all the other media texts I've talked about so far, Parasite is so much more disturbing/dark than kooky. The director of this film, Bong Joon Ho, tackles the topic of social/income inequality and power struggle. 

He was essentially very locked in and made his movie the worlds greatest masterpiece with amazing writing and spectacular care for the heavy themes while communicating them with audiences effectively. A little bit similar to Dan Da Dan, excluding the kookiness and colorfulness, Parasite is a nice blend of a heck ton of genres. SWEAR!! This was one thing that especially stood the helly out to me upon my viewing!!! One second you'll see the Kim family goofing around and enjoying every little bit and moment they have in the Park house while they're at vacation, and the next second you'll see the youngest child of the Park's eating cake, turning around, and seeing this CREEEEPPPPYYY ass man slowly lifting his head up the basement GJHHGITRGJDKFG I SHIVER IN MY TIMBERS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT DUDE HERE LOOK AT THIS I HAVE EXAMPLES LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKK

Parasite (2019)

ts our house now brah

Parasite (2019)

FUUUUUUUUUUUHHHH NAHHHH

What's happening in the first scene I showed you lovely blog viewers, has plenty of comedic undertones to it as DUHHHH the Kim's don't live in that house! They took it over! Like a Parasite! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHA I SAID THE THINGGGG THE TITLE THE THINGGGGG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

sorry I zoned out again what's my name

Not only is that first scene pretty silly, it also has its bit of tension! As the Kim's get more and more comfortable, you can begin to feel anxious for them knowing that all of what they're doing is building up to something big, and that was probably definitely intentional by the director. The entirety of this movie really this way. It's funny most of the time, but you know DANG well that something is wrong, and yes, it will continue to go wrong. RRRHGHHG THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD BONG JOON HO PLEASE SIGN MY FACE

As for the second scene! I think I won't be able to get sleep tonight!!! IT GETS ME EVERY SINGLE TIME. I'VE WATCHED THIS CLIP MORE THAN TWICE AND IT STILL GIVES ME THE HEEBIE JEEBIES!!!! I'm definitely NOT a horror fan like at all, but I actually really enjoyed all the horror elements implemented into Parasite! (except for maybe the really scary graphic parts I don't do well with gore) Like I said up there in the previous paragraph, you're scared most of the time cause the director is clearly telling you the whole time "YO THESE CHARACTERS ARE IN CRAZY DANGER AND SOMETHING IS HORRIBLY WRONG YOU ARE MEANT TO BE FREAKED OUT!!!!" "BE FREAKED OUT!!!" Thank you Bong Joon Ho I was very freaked out most of your film! Especially when watching the ending! :DD 

For our short film, I don't think we are planning on truly scaring audiences/implementing horror elements like Parasite but, very much like it, we are thinking on tackling serious topics. Parasite is VERYYY similar to the current concept we have of our plot right now as the entirety of the film is literally just a power struggle that is essentially worthless in the end, literally like how we want to do it. Like the Kims, Otto goes on miles and MILESSS to receive the power she has always wanted but is left stranded in the end as she got deceived and left with ultimately nothing. WOWWW BONG JOON HO WE ARE SO ALIKE! PLEASE TAKE A SELFIE WITH ME

GUYS WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW ITS A MUST 

now I recite my concluding statements :D Cause it's late at night and me want sleep :DDD Sleep good :DDDD banana :DDDD

Week 2 is officially complete everybody!!! WOOHOOO!!!!! We are slowly making our way out of the planning/research stage as week 3 is pretty much the final week of it! GET LIT!! I'm really hoping once my group and I meet again we will finally come to a total agreement on a plot that we all like :D I'm really really excited and looking forward to where this supa awesome project will take us!! 

As for now!! I must lay in my bed and go unconscious for about 8 hours!! 

Boa noite super awesome blog readers, watch The Amazing Digital Circus and Parasite RIGHT NOW and remember to always stay snazzy!

                                                                            CITES

 BlueBricky. (2023, October 13). The Amazing Digital Circus main theme [V1]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkcvfg451cU

  JhayerisPLays. (2023, November 17). Kaufmo abstracted? why didn’t anybody tell me?#theamazingdigitalcircus. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4tLlfoiVl8

Eboy Plays Doorman. (2024, May 3). POMNI’S ABSTRACT NIGHTMARE || THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS EPISODE 2 CLIP. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpe-wnEvqfM

 Almir Velovic Productions. (2024, May 3). Kaufmo’s Funeral 😢 (The Amazing Digital Circus). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imJIUaxL1Uo

 Qurez_apples52. (2025, June 20). INTERMISSION TIME scene | The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 5. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSR-CfApekI

  Butterfly editz<3. (2025, June 21). The Amazing Digital Circus Stargazing Adventure Scene. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqTeJDcIgsc 

 galazy. (2025, August 16). gangle laughs manically while shooting a tommygun (TADC ep 6). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N67LyAYqrUs

⭐FL14⭐. (2025, August 15). The Amazing Digital Circus Ep 6(Kinger vs Pomni and Jax scene). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0XuGsnt6O4

 Bryan Zavala. (2026, February 24). Kinger and Ragatha nice talk from Ep.6 #tadc. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCj0XnNLeA4

 Mod_theOFFICIAL1. (2025, December 13). Jax’s Panic Attack - Episode 7 The Amazing Digital Circus. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_1S9gT4kck

 Parasite (2019) - Making Themselves at Home Scene (4/10) | Movieclips. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO8YKp1-LiM

Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, October 9). Parasite (2019 film). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_(2019_film)

Parasite (2019) - Seeing a Ghost Scene (6/10) | Movieclips. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8hVHdrT1Lg

VIVA LA PATRIAAAAAAA

 YOOOOO WHATS GOOOOODD it is so cold in my room right now hold on I'm gonna put on pj pants real quick before I turn into an ice cube

OK! PJ pants on!! I am now geared up and ready to write my 2nd research post of the week!! 

If you recall from the little schedule I made last post here, today I'm gonna be yapping all about ENA and ENA Dream BBQ, a kooky, abstract, web series and video game inspired by that very web series made by Peruvian creator Joel Guerra.

hold on gimme a sec peru was just mentioned :DDDDD I'm from there :DDD

VIVA LA PATRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA CARAJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VAMOS PERUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

ok im back hi 

It's ENA TIME!! LETS GOOOO

ENA (2020) AND ENA: Dream BBQ (2025)

PART 1: ENA (2020)

my peruvian queen

First, since I'm the yappiest yapper out there and love to talk on here more than anything, I'm gonna give to you all a basic introduction to the ENA franchise and my personal experience with it cuz duh! 

As a chronically online person, I first heard of ENA back in like 2020 when it first came out and made a KILLING on YouTube. I've heard a fair share of music used within the series on platforms like TikTok and especially YouTube during 2021. The main culprit on YouTube being animation memes. For those of you who are normal, on YT there's a whole subgenre of animation videos called "animation memes." These were crazy popular back in the early 2000's and 2010s but are still sorta relevant today. This is how they work: Grab popular song trending among internet or other animators, get og character or existing character, animate it dancing or bobbing its head or something and BAM you got yourself some banger content :D Right down below I'll embed one of my fav animation memes I uncovered during 2021 when ENA was still trending like crazy, utilizing the song "ENA REMIX" by Cotiles (pretend theres an accent on the o :D)

Spin Syudo (2021)

[their art style is SO cool]

Cotiles (2020)

Song the vid above pulled from :D

[i totally listened to this a normal amount when i first discovered it hahahahaheheheahha]

ENA- Temptation Stairway (2021)

Original audio!

Along with this animation meme, I also came across other silly animated ENA related memes, one of which using a very popular audio from the series remixed into a song just like the last one called

ok wait hold on im gonna play minecraft with my bestie westie isa brb gang

alrighty hi :D I'm just gonna restart that sentence back there so your brains don't get confuzzled

Along with this animation meme, I also came across other silly animated ENA related memes, one of which using a very popular audio from the series remixed into a song just like the last one called FNF- Salutations Sir! (FULL EDIT/REMIX) posted by YouTuber SILLYLASAGNA (in another life I would be silly lasagna). This audio, while also deriving from the web series, is actually also originally created for a Friday Night Funkin mod which is really hecking cool :D Check out all these really cool videos showing what the helly I just talked about :DD

Pacific_Watercress (2021)

[THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME]

SILLYLASAGNA (2022)

Song the vid above pulled from :D

ENA-Extinction Party (2020)

Original audio!

And so yeah! Even though I've never watched the entirety of the show myself, which I really should because I believe that's required out of all Peruvians, I heard of ENA and watched some ENA content outside the web series many, mannyy times. This just goes to show how POPULAR this show was back in the good old days of quarantine among weird internet kids who barely went outside and lacked the ability to interact with other humans normally even before COVID began.
Okay Emi. This is what I got so far from your yap. I know that ENA is Peruvian (YYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAY), made a killing in 2020-2021, and is a web series...but what the heck is it about, who the freak is the Picasso looking yellow and blue geometric mfka that keeps appearing on my screen and why is she so weird looking? I am so glad you asked super awesome blog reader!!!! Here I am, this is me, Emi about to answer all your questions. 

I found a perfect definition from the ENA fandom wiki that I will put right down below me here cause I could not have explained it better myself

"ENA...is a Peruvian avant-garde animated comedy series, created by Joel Guerra and published on YouTube and Newgrounds. The series combines 2D and 3D animation and draws inspiration from many pieces of surrealist media and worldwide culture, particularly from Peru and Japan."

Yeah guys, this amazing Peruvian (GRHAHHAHAHAHAH) piece of fiction is pretty dang weird! It's quite kooky, just like the last two media texts I researched the other day. What it has in contrast to Beetlejuice and Dan Da Dan though is that it is DREAAAMMMMMYYYY. Yes, there is plot in every episode, and yes there are characters to follow, but it surely is NOT your typical "oh I'll sit down and zone out" type of show.

I'd say that if you wanted to sit down and watch ENA then you would HAVE to pay attention because of how confusing it can be, and that is for sure what Joel G was going for. [He] wanted to create "characters with strange shapes in a very colorful world where nothing makes sense ("ENA (Series)," n.d.). This piece is very absurd, all the way down to its character design, hilariously strange dialogue, general aesthetic, and worldbuilding and it is definitely something I'd like to take away for our short film :D                                                                                                                                                                                   ENA is SO unrealistic, the only "real" parts being in some of the character designs as ENA's costume was actually based off of Peruvian school girl uniforms which is SO COOL when I found that out I was like WOAHHHHHH!!!! I'm DIGGING the Peruvian rep!! LOOK AT THIS

Peruvian school girl uniform

ENA! :D

Anyway, I think the pure absurdity of this piece is amazing to take from since our project is also very NOT realistic. Obviously, our piece isn't gonna be as abstract and UNREAL like ENA is but it isn't going to represent everyday normal life like mine or yours either. It won't show someone waking up to go to school or work and go through silly situations or adventures, NOPE! It will show someone waking up, wanting power, and going through batshit insane adventures and situations just to then be fooled by Satan himself. Yey :DDD 

Now anytime I need inspiration for the absurdity of our film, you'll find me turning to my favorite yellow and blue Peruvian gal! ;D (HFDHUBAGFABFJHAUGDUKJ)

Alrighty now time for ENA: Dream BBQ!! VAMONOS AMIGOS! ES LA HORA DE LA PATRIA!! TODOS SOMOS PERUUUUUUUU CHAMACOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! VIVA LA PATRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  

I am having so much fun right now

PART 2- ENA: Dream BBQ (2025)

Okay so unlike ENA, I haven't heard AS much about this video game. I saw like 2 seconds of the first trailer and a couple super awesome pieces of fanart but that'd be about it. AND THAT SUCKS!!! Cause dude this game looks SO freaking cool. Imagine ENA but like 10x cooler looking and awesome, that's how she looks like in Dream BBQ. Below I'll embed the trailer I saw a while ago so I could introduce the general vibe of this piece to you all :D

LOOK AT HERRRRRR

So an ENA video game! I bet you're wondering how that played out, and I did too! If you guessed correctly just now, YES it is super duper weird just like the web series :D This whole game follows ENA, with a coloration and personality new to the series...[being] tasked with finding, and killing, The Boss.

MarcoCardenas (2025)

Directed by Froggy, thanks to the route persuaded out of The Receptionist, and with confusion from Dratula, ENA proceeds through various doors to ultimately find the boss ("Dream BBQ," 2025).                                                                                                             If you are confused, oh trust me I am too. But again, this was Joel's ultimate objective, and it always has been! The difference here, besides the plot, is that the tone and general vibe/aesthetic is miles different from the OG ENA. This project, according to the ENA fandom wiki, has been "thought of even before the release of Temptation Stairway." What Joel wanted to approach with this one though, is a darker tone and story based off of the concept of nightmares. I love this guy :D

"Months ago even before uploading Temptation Stairway, I thought about the probability of doing an ENA project based on nightmares. This is the reason why DREAM BBQ looks different and uncanny in some aspects" -Joel G. ("Dream BBQ," 2025).

This wacky video game taking place in a very wacky, darker world than the ENA web series has been greatly regarded by both fans and critics, with 5 stars on Steam (Steam, 2026) and 98% positive reviews from Google users (Google, 2026). This huge success wasn't just because. It truly had a good reason!!! ENA: Dream BBQ..exudes such a high level of quality and love for games, the internet, and digital media as a whole (Pasta, 2025). 

Joel G's creations are always filled with so much passion and such a clear art direction while also implementing total appreciation for just about every art form, which I love with my whole entire heart :] I want our short film to feel no different.

 

It's really important to myself and the same likely goes with my team, to see audiences really noticing and admiring the absolute passion oozing out of our piece. This project is crazy important, not only for our grades, but also for ourselves and our creative ambitions/personalities :D! Another aspect of ENA: Dream BBQ that I took away and will refer back to when taking care of art direction for our short film would definitely be the color palette! I love the red, black, dark orange, spooky looking aesthetic thats going on in this video game and would adore to implement the same/similar colors to our film, as it's also gonna be dark and potentially nightmareish! :DD All in all, Dream BBQ is so freaking cool and I'll surely check it out one day before I die :D

It has been so awesome learning all about the ENA multiverse throughout this post, the proud Peruvian side of me is very happy! Joel G is such a great creator, I wanna be like him when I grow up :DDDD

Most of all, it is actually so amazing and heart warming to me knowing that Peruvian media has made its mark out there on just about every platform. We surely made it big and it was all thanks to one guy and his silly little abstract creation, ENA :]

(Art by Quibb_le on X!)

Thank you all for reading through another one of my super awesome research posts for this week! :D I'll surely be back very soon for my third and final post and I am SO excited to yap all about it. I enjoy especially one of them an unhealthy amount! :DDD YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY GET HYPED YAYAYYAAYYAYAYAYAYAAYAYAYAYYYAYAYYAYAYYAYA

Alrighty bai bai! :D God bless Peru and make sure to always drink water!

CITES:

       ENA (Series). (n.d.). Ena Wiki. https://enajoelg.fandom.com/wiki/ENA_(Series)

                Spin Syudo. (2021, March 14). I’m Allergic To People - ENA Animation. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAm0GAiRDtk

                   Cótiles. (2021, February 22). Cótiles - ENA REMIX. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmmERgX0FgI&list=RDDmmERgX0FgI

                         Joel G. (2021, February 15). ENA - Temptation Stairway. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juBv2XWnwt8&list=RDjuBv2XWnwt8

                          Pacific_Watercress. (2021, September 9). Salutations Sir Animation Meme // ENA - FLASH WARNING ⚠️. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvd0B5qm0qA

                    sɪʟʟʏʟᴀsᴀɢɴᴀ. (2022, September 27). FNF - Salutations Sir! (FULL EDIT/REMIX) [Music Video] {Flashing lights Warning}. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trPV4GrNPiA

                            G, J. (2020b, September 16). ENA - Extinction Party. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td7CBNu0914

                           ENA - Power of Potluck. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmXe-ZGr5RM

                                                                       Pasta, N. (2025, March 29). ENA: Dream BBQ Review: A Surreal Art Game Blending ’90s Nostalgia & Avant-Garde Design. Bitsnpixels.org; Bits N’ Pixels. https://bitsnpixels.org/p/ena-dream-bbq-surreal-art-game-review

                          Wiki, E. (2025). Dream BBQ. ENA Wiki; Fandom, Inc. https://enajoelg.fandom.com/wiki/Dream_BBQ

BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

 Okay so I recently just found out that for every blog post that we post this week (except for the last one i just posted you should check it out :D) we had to research not only one but TWO media texts within each!! GAH! Luckily, it's not that deep cause I already have a list of stuffs to research but I still should've read a little closer so I could come up with titles that'll fit each post more LMAOOO

I don't wanna change my titles though I think they're pretty boombayastic so uhh Cambridge lads! Tstok! Random viewer! Whoever you are! Here's how the next 3 posts are gonna be layed out! (excluding the very first post that I made for the week duhhhhh) (its the one below this one you should read it :D)

Post 1- Beetlejuice and Dan Da Dan

Post 2- ENA and ENA: Dream BBQ

Post 3- The Amazing Digital Circus and Parasite

Alrighty! Now that we have all that sorted out let's dive straight into today's first media text:

BEETLEJUICE (1988)!

As of present day, I have watched both Beetlejuice's! (except for the new movie that came out in like 2024 I don't have any intention of watching it lolz) I've seen the movie from 1988 and the musical adaptation! :D Twice! The first time was like a year ago in Miami or Fort Lauderdale (i forgor) with my family and the second time was just last week here at my school! Both were INSANELY good, the immersion, the costume design, the characters, the comedy, Beetlejuice himself, oh MAN all of it was AMAZING!! I am going to watch this musical more times than twice that is very for sure! As for the movie, I've only checked it out once with my family after watching the musical out of curiosity :D I don't quite remember that much but I do remember laughing a lot so HECK YEAH LETS GOOO

me cause I'm literally researching my fav pieces of media rn

Now that I look back on both viewings (or uh..thrice viewings?), I decided to choose specifically the movie cause it's freaking awesome and I don't quite remember it as much as the musical, so why not learn some more about it? :D I love learning things that actually appeal to me, so let's do it!!

okay wait brb cambridge i gotta go to lunch bai :DD

Konichiwa Mr/Mrs. Cambridge, Tstok, or random viewer!! I am back for like 10 minutes cause I brought myself some free time in English class! :D Time to talk to you all about Beetlejuice (1988)!

Directed by the one and only Tim Burton, the plot of this movie is quite literally the same as the musical (except for a couple things like Juno's relationship with Beetlejuice, how the Maitlands die, and how Lydia's mom is alive hehehehahhahaheehehehe). It revolves around these two lovely people, Adam and Barbara Maitland who recently died due to a car crash and are left to haunt their own home for seemingly the rest of eternity. Soon after though, a new family, the Deetz, move into their house and start to stay there.
Driven to get their house back from these grimy alive humans, they recruit this creepy old half demon guy called Beetlejuice to scare them all away! The entirety of the film (I have to watch this again), contains a bunch of wacky antics which include giant sandworms, going to literal hell, meeting Mrs. Argentina, watching Mr. and Mrs. Maitland get their faces stretched out, and much, much more!

Looking back, I can confidently say that this film is super duper koo-koo and quite disturbing at the very same time. Beetlejuice himself was obviously the star of the show and surely added to the overall comedic/surreal effect of the film as he's just a hilariously scary, outrageous, silly, old guy looking to scare the shit out of everybody and their mama. However, in contrast to the musical adaptation, Beetlejuice doesn't really have such a major scene until about halfway through the film, but it was for good reason! Tim Burton did this because it adds some tension and more mystique between the audience and the creepy character. When [Beetlejuice] does come on screen, a lot of his personality and actions are for shock value (El-Mahmoud, 2023). As surprised as I was to learn this, I also really liked how Burton decided to do it just to create more tension and add to that supernatural and mysterious side of the production to make audiences shiver in their timbers while also having a grand ol' time watching a surreal, horrendous, rotting +probably100 year old man being a menace!

By the end of the film, Beetlejuice is then banished by Barbara Maitland to the Netherworld's waiting room and he just sits there still being good ol silly Beetlejuice while accompanying this witch doctor that shrinks his head after being annoyed by him. It's really cool and kinda scary :D

he's so me

Speaking of which, the main thing that really stood out to me in this film were the insanity of some of the special effects. The scenes that I remember the most clearly are the ones with the Maitland's getting their faces stretched out in very weird and uncanny ways. Just seeing these pictures again of the scenes creeps me the helly out even if there are comedic undertones to it BAHHAHA here look check out these images that are still living in my subconscious (probably some good reasons why my dreams are actually insane half the time)

Barbara and Adam Maitland (nightmare fuel version)

Throughout my research of this film, I was surprised to learn that not absolutely everything aligns entirely with the musical. Like sure, the plot of both are still relatively the same, but the original, while there are tons upon tons of comedic aspects, is arguably the scariest most disturbing version of all. Emi from a year ago was surely a little disturbed at one point during her viewing of this film, and the same goes with many other viewers around the world! It's one of those movies that stick with you, and definitely scared many as kids (El-Mahmoud, 2023).

Like Beetlejuice (1988), I'd like to take the "HAHAHAHAHAH funny omg I'm actually kinda highkey lowkenuinely a little scared right now" approach with our short film :D It'd be so awesome and super duper intriguing and quite unforgettable if we make it all koo-koo-kookey while also spooking audiences with costume design, special effects, or what have you :]] More to come as time goes on, but I'd love to implement some aspects of Beetlejuice's absurdity into action! Annie Christopher is literally Beetlejuice if he was the actual devil :D

Anyway! That should be all of my research on Beetlejuice :] I definitely would love to give this movie another watch again as there are probably so many other cool scenes and details that I surely forgot about but for the time being, Thank you Beetlejuice for being super cool and awesome and inspiring a couple kids to make their shortfilm the weirdest and koo-koo-kookiest it could ever be! :D WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Okie dokie now time to move on to our 2nd media text of today's post! HOLD YOUR HORSES

DAN DA DAN (2024)!

Okay so I myself haven't actually watched the entirety of this show yet, maybe only like the first 4 episodes :D I've been way way wayyy more locked in on the manga instead, but after watching a couple eps of the anime right after coming out of reading a few manga issues, I could confidently say that both versions, kinda like what I just talked about with Beetlejuice, are very similar. Both Dan Da Dans are VERY similar though, really the only difference being with the dialogue and all that, but it really isn't that much :D With all that being said..                                                                                                                                                                DAN DA DAN IS SO FUCKING AWESOME YO                                                                                                                             Getting through the first ep/issue was a lil hard due to some uh..some 18+, Her-esque scenes that made myself and many others in the fandom a tad bit uncomfortable but it didn't last for so long like how other animes do it, so I survived just fine :D BUT THE REST, ONCE YOU GET PAST THOSE PARTS, IS SOSSO COOL. That's one thing about this anime that really stood out to me by the way, not only how 18+ it can get at times, but HOW WEIRD IT IS. If you're already wondering what the plot is all about, it literally revolves around a guy (Okarun) getting his nuts stolen by evil ghosts and in order to get them back, he has to team up with a friend (Momo) and fight said evil ghosts :D! Weird right :D! I love it! :D 

Okay wait hold on I need to tell you something like right now before I explode. I'm currently in media class right now and today we were critiquing a whole bunch of trailers that we made for the distribution project a bit ago :D I worked with my super awesome peers, Zach, Nico, Robbie, and Samara, and acted as the writer for all of our critiques. Dude when I tell you, I am a HUMAN COMPUTER. LIKE GENUINELY. WHY ELSE DO I YAP SO DANG MUCH IN THIS BLOG??? HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?? I BET YOU HAVEN'T. I never really acknowledged that fact but today Zach did, and right after I finished writing everything, he coined the term "Emi slop" to describe the way I do things (in a good way). 

Now I must say

  THIS IS THE GREATEST TERM OF ALL TIME EVERYBODY ALL MY PROJECTS ARE FROM NOW ON REQUIRED TO BE UNDER THE GENRE OF EMI SLOP

Forgive how I went so off track back there, but I thought it was super important to introduce to you all the term "Emi Slop" and just say that if I created and directed an anime I would SO make something similar to Dan Da Dan. LIKE SO SIMILAR. I probably wouldn't make it revolve around a guy getting his junk stolen but it would still be so fucking weird. So amazing. So Emi Slop. 

Throughout my research of this piece, I really just want to touch on and learn all about what makes it so weird and why it works for so many people who consider themselves lovers of this amazing work of fiction (myself included if you couldn't tell yet). As for what specific version of it would I like to research?? I mean genuinely, they are highkey carbon copies of each other with only SOMMMEEE difference so I personally think it doesn't matter, but I think I'm gonna go with the show here :D BUT THEN AGAIN IT DOESNT REALLY MATTER THEY ARE STILL THE SAME AND EQUALLY STRANGE so pretty please don't mind if I get most knowledge of Dan Da Dan based off the manga and not from actually watching the entirety of the show itself. OKAY MOVING ON

Genuinely, what I think sets the tone so well for the Dan Da Dan anime is absolutely the intro of season one. The visuals, the music, the general vibe? HOLY SHITTTTTT I swear the first time I watched it I stayed in an absolute trance and I actively listen to the song used in it TO THIS DAY even though I discovered it like a month ago shhhh shut up

LOOK AT THIS PEAKKKKKKKKKKK

The song itself was made by Japanese hip-hop group, Creepy Nuts, and the visuals were animated by animation studio, Science Saru. Everything about the intro really factored into the general immersion of the entire piece, fueling the anime's popularity and making it a fan favorite among Netflix audiences :D I know this is an animated intro with music and super professional looking stuff, but the vibe and pure weirdness it constantly radiates throughout is truly something to behold and to be inspired by. Our film is going to be a bit darker in terms of art direction and color palette but I also would really like to open by immediately establishing and communicating to audiences "HEY!! WHAT YOU'RE WATCHING??? YEAH! YEAH!! IT'S ABOUT TO BE REALLY FUCKING WEIRD!!!!! HOLD YOUR HORSES! STRAP IN! UR NOT READY!!!!!!!!

Jokes aside, even though I am the living embodiment of silliness so never mind I'll never put my jokes aside, this anime is truly so bizzare. It's not only just a comedy, but a romance, coming of age, supernatural, thriller, drama, horror, action mix of a masterpiece. Every single thing and every single thought that has been conjured up at one point in time is likely included and or mentioned in Dan Da Dan. It has EVERYTHING. What it has most of all though is absolute weirdness, which I'm pretty sure we have established already :D But aside from the intro and the insane mix of genres, what else makes Dan Da Dan so weird and why do we, the audience, eat it up? 

This show, from first glance, is all about fighting supernatural creatures like ghosts and aliens for a specific motive (balls) (BAAHHAHAHAHAH she said balls everybody laugh). 

However, alongside fighting very strange looking beings that are out to get your nuts, this anime also has a focus on not only the romantic tension between main characters Momo Ayase and Okarun but also the topic of sex and facing its pressures and expectations from it at a young age. (OOOOOO SHE SAID THE S WORDD OOOOO EVERYBODY LAUGHHH)

But yeah! :D I'd definitely say that this anime is perfectly profound while having intense weirdness on top to still keep audiences hooked and intrigued in what it has to offer with the topics I just mentioned before that dog busted in again and stated that I made a statement. ONE more time dude and I SWEAR

Anyway :D Similar to how we're trying to approach our film, Dan Da Dan's weirdness has meaning and heart behind it. The piece often represents sex and how discomforting the topic can be for a teenager, being the reason behind some of the 18+ish scenes with the female lead. Nothing ever truly heinous happens, but you still feel genuinely disturbed, discomforted, a lil scared, while also feeling that discomfort from Momo herself.

 

Sex at this age is scary; it carries with it intense but different pressures for every gender. Dan Da Dan's plot is weird and fraught with danger, but so are relationships as a teenager (Cannon, 2024). As I mentioned before, the relationship (friends but clearly like each other typa thang going on) between Okarun and Momo is a main plot point of the entire series and is always built upon no matter how scary or disgusting the freaky, insane, diabolical supernatural being they are fighting that episode is. They begin as rivals of some sort, become friends, and then start to develop feelings for each other, and it's a super confusing time for the both of them. Not only do they have to deal with freaky deeky aliens and spirits, they also have to deal with each other, their feelings, and how to navigate them. It all comes back to these two kids, trying to figure out their relationship with each other at an age where they have no baseline for normal. (Cannon, 2024) (again) (thank you random anime journalist for your lovely review) (I didn't even know your job was real until today)

If I were an anime, I would be this one :D I seriously love Dan Da Dan with my whole entire heart and truly resonate and feel just kinda sorta seen by its meaningful weirdness. Yes, I am an adolescent trying to figure out her life without a sustainable concept of what it means to be grown up in today's society. Yes, the world seems so big and large and new to me still even though I'm almost legally an adult. Yes, my feelings are hard to navigate, especially when it comes to love. Yes, sex is scary to me. And YES, I am unapologetically weird because that's just who I am. I love being authentic and I love just being me. It's fun :] 

AND SO THATS WHAT I REALLY WANNA DO! WITH THIS SHORT FILM! I touched on this a bit in the first post I made for this project last week, but I'm gonna say it again :D I truly want our product to just be a raw reflection of each one of our kooky personalities, Joaquin, Andrew and I. I think we all have an idea of what it means to be the "weird kid" and personally I think it's just something so beautiful. To be one of a kind :D A limited edition if you will :D

 I sit in the far back of Tstok's class, but every time I end up zoning out, my eyes always go to one decoration she has on the other side of her room. It's a canvas looking thing that says something along the lines of, "I'm not weird, I'm a limited edition" and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Even on the bad days, it always manages to cheer me up and make me go "Yeah!! YEAH! My kookiness is truly one of a kind! I should appreciate myself more :D!"

But yeah, with everything being said, I want this short film to be a limited edition. Something so special, something so US!!! It would be lovely to make it have the spookiness and disturbingness of Beetlejuice along with the meaningful, unapologetic weirdness of Dan Da Dan. We are going to have so much fun with this thing and I can't wait to garner much more inspiration from the couple next media texts I'm about to research and yap all about to you guys  :] As for now though! I must go eat :D I forgot to eat my sandwich for lunch earlier today at school so I must eat it now before I can eat this super yummy ass looking meal my mom prepped for me at the buffet in Whole Foods. Life is truly so awesome right now!!

Hasta la vista friends, remember to never be normal!!

                                                                               CITES:

 El-Mahmoud, S. (2023, July 27). It’s Showtime: I Saw The Beetlejuice Musical, And I Actually Think It’s Better Than The Movie. Cinemablend. https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/its-showtime-saw-beetlejuice-musical-better-movie

to, C. (2024). Beetlejuice (movie). Beetlejuice Wiki; Fandom, Inc. https://beetlejuice.fandom.com/wiki/Beetlejuice_(movie)

                     Netflix Anime. “DAN DA DAN OP | Otonoke by Creepy Nuts | Netflix Anime.” YouTube, 5 Oct. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dnxXrpN-o&list=RDA1dnxXrpN-o. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.

                Cannon, Trent. “Dan Da Dan Is Weird, Profoundly Inappropriate, and the Perfect Anime This Season.” Popverse, Nov. 2024, www.thepopverse.com/tv-popverse-jump-dan-da-dan-dandadan-is-the-perfect-weird-anime-crunchyroll-netflix-jump.