Yobi the Five Tailed Fox: Movie Review ( Spoiler Free)

I came across this film when I was doing research on Korean Folklore for my screenplay. 

It's available on Netflix, and it's the first Korean animated movie that I've seen. 

Story: Thousands of years ago, nine tailed foxes roamed the moutains, but they were driven out by humans. Yobi is the only one of her kind, and when aliens crash on the mountain where she lives, she takes them in, and they become a family. One day, one of the aliens is found by a human girl, and she takes him to her school. In order to get her friend back, Yobi poses as a human and goes to the school that the girl goes to. While trying to find a way to get her alien friend back, Yobi meets Geum-ee, a young boy who wants to be a comedian. As Yobi gets to know the humans at the school, and becomes more interested in Geum-ee a Gumiho hunter appears, and she is put in danger. Yobi learns that to spend time with humans, she must become one herself, but the price might be too high for her to pay. 

This movie was very interesting. The spirits, history and the world of the film gave it the same mysterious atmosphere of Spirited Away. 

Yobi is a curious, fun loving character, and she also has a good heart. As she sdapts to humans, she changes her values and morals. 

Some of the spirits were really strange, but they seemed to be part of the world of the film, and each brought their own element to Yobi's story. 

For some characters, there is little to no history about them. The shadow detective, the fox hunter and Yobi's spirit friend are never really explained. 

Still, the movie was very interesting and it dove into some philosophical topics. 

I would recommend this film to fans of Miyazaki, Korean Folkore and animation. 

Four out of five dreamcatchers. 

Nine-tailed Wish

A while ago, I wrote a story about a Gumiho that wants to be human. I few days ago, someone asked me if I would keep writing that story. I've decided to publish it on Wattpad, and this will be my project for NANO WRIMO :) 

You can find the first three chapters here: 

http://w.tt/1O304YY

The Nine Tailed Wish Chapter 4: The Barbecue

The first thing I noticed was a smell. As we walked through the neighborhood, the smell became stronger. 

"My friend's burgers are the best." Dong-sun said with a smile.

Hana skipped in front of us, and finally stopped at a blue house with a brown roof. The sun was lower  in the sky, making the house look a little intimidating.

It was weird seeing a human's home up close. I had kept a safe distance from them in the past, heeding my mother's warnings and watching the humans come and go from the strange buildings.

This particular building had a tree with small flowers around it, and a swing by the front door. As we walked up the porch steps, Dong-sun rang the door bell and Hana jumped on the swing.

"Coming!" A voice from inside called. "We don't have everything ready yet." 

The door opened to reveal a guy around Dong-Sun's age with a spatula in one hand and the door handle in the other.

"Well hello there." He smiled at me, "Who might you be?"

"Don't start Lee-Hyung." Dong-Sun said. "We thought you might want some help before the Barbecue gets crazy."

"I think I can manage" Lee-Hyung said with a laugh. "But you still haven't introduced me to this lovely girl."

I looked at him strangely. I didn't know that humans found me lovely, or anything for that matter. It was another reminder that humans could see me now.

"Watch out for him." Dong-Sun told me, "He's a bit of a womanizer."

"Is that any way to introduce your friend?" Lee- Hyung said with a frown. "I just know when to appreciate the sight of a pretty girl."

"Like I said," Dong-Sun laughed and led Hana to the door, pushing me in front of him.

"The burgers are out back." Lee-Hyung said as Hana went to the backyard. "Would you like some drinks?"

I wasn't familiar with this situation, and it suddenly dawned on me that I had entered a human's home.  Seeing one from the inside for the first time was a little shocking. My own home was a cave deep in the forest. Mother did have candles, but we slept on animal skins, and we watched the path by our home thouroughly, always worried that someone would threaten to take it. 

The human home was a very different type of burrow. There were windows for one, and a strange fenced in area in the back. While Lee-Hyung brought us glasses of water, he showed me a strange box between a lamp and an armchair.

"You can watch some T.V. while I finish getting everything ready." he said. 

I stared at the box, and waited for something to happen while Dong-Sun went out another door. Eventually I got bored and followed.

"Nothing exciting on?" Lee-Hyung asked me as I walked over to the table and watched Dong-Sun grill the burgers. 

They were made of meat. I was sure of it. But I had never seen meat like this before.

"Have you ever had a hamburger?" Dong-Sun asked me. I shook my head. 

Lee-Hyung set up big bottles of yellow and red around a stack of what appeared to be plates made of paper. I had seen humans eat on plates before, but these were floppy when I picked one up. 

The doorbell rang and Lee-Hyung went to answer it. Hana was blowing bubbles again while twirling in a circle. I watched her giggle, and smiled.

"I was't kidding about Lee-Hyung." Dong-Sun said, sitting beside me, "He really likes to flirt."

"Flirt?" I asked. I wasn't sure I knew what the word meant.

"You mean you didn't notice?" He asked. "That might be a good thing."

As the sun slipped further away from the sky, more humans arrived and soon it was what Dong-Sun called a "party." 

Hana grabbed a hamburger first and I watched her prepare it. I tried to mimick her but I wasn't sure what all the extra stuff was for the meal. 

"These are good with hamburgers." Dong-Sun said as he handed me some thin crunchy potatoes.

I tried them, and he was right. They were surprisingly good with the meat. 

As everybody gathered around the table, Dong-Sun introduced me to a few other humans. One, a girl with a blue dress like mine was named Yu-Na. She talked to me throughout most of the meal, and I smiled and nodded, listening to as much as I could understand.

"I've never seen you around here before." Yu-Na said. 

"I'm new." I said, continuing to pretend I was a normal human. 

I looked over at Hana who was laughing with Dong-Sun and wondered what it was like to live this way. Instead of a burrow, I would have a building. I would prepare food the way humans did and sit outside, watching the sun set.

"Do you know about Dong-Sun?" Yu-Na asked.

I looked at her, unsure of the question. 

"You know that Hana and Dong-Sun live across the street right?" Yu-Na said. "We haven't seen their parents in a while. I think they went on vacation. It's probably difficult for him to take care of Hana huh?'

I watched Hana and Dong-Sun while Lee-Hyung brought a piece of food called cake toward me.

"I thought you should have the first piece." Lee-Hyung said as he handed me the plate and a fork to try the strange food with.

I took a bite, not really liking the taste. It was too sweet, and not made of meat. I hid my disgust with my hand, smiled and said, "Thanks."

As the Barbecue came to a close, Dong-Sun and Hana stayed behind to clean up. I helped clean the tables and pack up the "leftovers". It was another strange thing about humans that I didn't understand. How did they keep their food from going bad the next day?

I watched Lee-Hyung put the packed food in a white box with a giant door. The air was cold when he opened it. 

"Thanks for helping out." Lee-Hyung  said as Hana, Dong-Sun and I stood at the front door. 

"Stay out of trouble."Dong-Sun told him. Hana giggled and ran across the street.

Dong-Sun turned to me. "Do you live around here?"

I nodded.

"I can walk you home."

"Thank you." I told him, "but it's not far from here."

He scratched the back of his head. "Ok then. It was nice meeting you."

"Come again tomorrow!" Hana said as she stood on their front porch. 

"It was nice meeting you too." I said with a smile. I waved as Dong-Sun walked to his house and waited until he shut the door.

Once I was sure he was gone, I raced toward the park and found a nice tree to curl up next to for the night. My first day as a human was over, and with the remaining nine months ahead of me, I was both excited and nervous at the idea of actually becoming a part of the human world.

The Nine Tailed Wish: Chapter 3: The First Step

When I reached the end of the field, I could see the houses perched on a hill in front of me. This was it, I was entering the human realm. I took a deep breath and sprinted the rest of the way. I changed to a slow walk as I saw a couple walking a dog round the corner. They waved at me, and I waved back, still not used to human communication. I remembered thinking it was a little silly when I was young that humans waved their paws in the air as a greeting, To a fox or a bear, that was a threatening thing. As the couple with the dog passed, I thought about how I could act human. I had watched them all my life, but I didn't know if I could ever fit in and become one of them. 

I was so focused on this, that I actually bumped into someone, and turned to see a guy chasing after a girl. I had seen enough of this to know it was a break up scene, or even a make up scene, but I didn't really want to stick around to find out which one would happen. I expected him to keep going, but he looked at me strangely, before running after the girl again. 

I looked down, and noticed that I had no shoes. This was normal for a Gumiho, but not a human. I walked through the neighborhood and found a corner store. But I had no money! Defeated, I found a place to sit by a local park, and wondered what to do next.

"Excuse me." I heard a young voice say. 

A little girl walked up to me and sat down beside me. I waited for her to say something, but she simply sat there and twiddled her thumbs. I watched, mimicking the movement until I saw her stop and stand up quickly. 

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. I knew I would see him again, but I didn't realize that the human I had watched, who was so kind to others and seemed to be very cheerful and happy, lived so close to the Divine Forest. 

"Did you wait long?" he asked the little girl as he held a bag in front of her.  

"Thanks big brother!" She shouted with a grin, and sat down beside me again, opening the bag.

"Who's this?" the human asked, staring at me.

"I don't know." The little girl replied, pulling out a bubble wand.

The human held out his hand and smiled, "I'm Dong-Sun Park." He sat down beside me.

"This is my little sister Hana."

I nodded and shook his hand. 

"What's your name?" he asked

"Sakura." I replied. "Sakura Gu."

"Gu?" he asked, "That's an interesting last name."

"So is Park." I replied, and he laughed. 

"Well it's nice to meet you Sakura." Dong-Sun said. "Although your name isn't Korean."

"It's Japanese." I told him, "My father named me after my mother's favorite flower."

It wasn't far from the truth, but I had to leave out that my father was a Divine Being. 

"Are you lost?" Dong-Sun asked.

I looked at him, wondering what I should say. If a human was lost, they were usually upset. Every human I had seen who was lost was usually crying or shouting for the person they were with.

"No. I'm not lost." I answered.

"Is your family nearby?" he asked.

"No. Why?'

"I'm just curious." Dong-Sun said, watching his sister blow bubbles. He offered me a bubble wand, and taught me to hold it up to the wind, creating strange see through orbs that disappeared after a while. 

"My family is actually far away." I said finally. "I don't know if I will see them again."

"I'm sorry." Dong-Sun said. "My family's not that far away, but they are rarely home. It's up to me to entertain my sister this summer."

I smiled at Hana, and she twirled in a bubble wall. 

"Would you like to hang out with us?' Dong-Sun asked. "We don't have much, but I'm sure Hana would like a girl around. Her brother's kind of boring."

I looked at him. He really was a nice human. Something about his offer seemed uncommon and very familiar at the same time. 

"Sure." I replied, not understanding what "hanging out" meant. 

"My friend is throwing a barbeque tonight." Dong-Sun said, "You should join us."

He stood up and held out his hand, waiting for me to take it. Hana giggled and tugged her brother's arm.

This seemed very strange, and he didn't even know me. Usually humans took a while to warm up to other humans. 

"Why are you asking me to join you?" I asked.

He seemed shocked by the question, so I wondered if I had said anything wrong. Then he smiled and shook his head. 

"I can't leave a girl out here all by herself." he said. "Especially when her family is far away."

I stared at his hand, then took it, following Hana, who found the sidewalk. 

Dong-Sun walked next to me, keeping an eye on his little sister. 

As we walked, I began to wonder what he would think if he knew I wasn't human. Would he be able to accept me? Would Hana?

A wind whipped around the trees and I took a deep breath. This was my first step into the human world. I didn't want to take it for granted.

Divine tears

The sun hides

behind the clouds.

Soft thunder 

rumbles.

This is my heart's 

sound.

Whenever I'm lonely,

watching people pass by,

these clouds come

from nowhere

blocking the sky.

As each tear falls,

the rain

patters on the ground.

The humans think

it strange.

But I know

the rain

is my aching

heart's sound.

To understand

the way human's live

is something 

no one can give.

This lonely creature,

lost in the rain

is simply a divine being

expressing sadness and pain

(Inspired by the Korean Gumiho Legends)

Miho Polyvore Set: Fox Rain

I've been watching Gu Family Book lately, but I also remembered another Korean drama about a Gumiho. I loved Miho's outfit in the series, and I finally found the pieces to complete the look. I bought the dress at Charlotte Russe, but I'm afraid the plaid shirt was more complicated than I realized. I finally found one at a thrift store, and now I can cosplay as Miho anytime!

In the set, the white dress and plaid shirt make up Miho's outfit. I added the fairy tale book for the Little Mermaid reference. The perfume bottle represents the one Miho kept her sacred orb in. The fox ring was just too cute to pass up, and the flats seemed to fit her character. I added the rain for obvious reasons :)

View the whole set here: http://www.polyvore.com/miho/set?id=83231157

Gu Family Book

(Picture by me on Photoshop for iPad)

I have watched four episodes of this drama so far, and I rank it up there with Arang and the Magistrate, The Moon That Embraces The Sun, and Hong Gil Dong. 

Someone on tumblr defined it as Inu-Yasha and Fruits Basket, so it's no wonder I love it, but I would also say that it echoes Ruroni Kenshin. The Prologue is intense, but the story plays out like a myth, and a tragedy. The plot echoes a lot of history from The Gumiho legends of asian folklore  and the fairytale Beauty and the Beast. Kang Chi is very similar to Kyo, but a little more trusting of people. His story of self discovery is going to be very interesting, challenging and powerful. This is my new favorite drama! 

My Eden from Gu Family Book: