Teck's Treehouse: June 2025

Monday, June 30, 2025

Watching Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved with cast event livestream

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved (小林さんちのメイドラゴンさみしがりやの竜) opened in Japan on 27 June 2025. But I went to catch F1 The Movie instead because there was a cast event for the Maid Dragon movie on 29 June 2025 that would be live streamed in theatres across Japan, and I thought I would catch the movie and the event together.

The movie is Kyoto Animation quality, with amazingly animated action scenes (including mass dragon fights). The story itself is very heartwarming, showing how Kobayashi-san is like a parent to Kanna-chan but, unrelated by blood, she always sees herself as "a friend who is like a parent".

The cast event followed the movie.

The cast event featured most of the voice actors of the main characters of the Maid Dragon series as well as the movie.

Tamura Mutsumi, voice of Kobayashi-san

Kuwahara Yuki, voice of Tohru

Naganawa Maria, voice of Kanna-chan

Tachiki Fumihiko, voice of Kimun Kamui (Kanna's father)

Takahashi Minami, voice of Lucoa (she also served as the MC for the event)

Ono Daisuke, voice of Fafnir

Sugiura Shiori, voice of Ilulu

Nakamura Yuichi, voice of Takiya Makoto

Kato Emiri, voice of Saikawa Riko

Ishihara Kaori, voice of Shota-kun

Director Ishihara Tatsuya also joined them on stage.

They mentioned that this was the largest group of Maid Dragon voice actors coming together for a cast event. (All the voice actors for the main characters were present, other than Takada Yuki, voice of Elma.) Due to the large number of people, it was also a very rushed event, lasting less than 30 minutes. A lot of the time was spent with the first round of introduction, followed by a bit of small talk, which then had to end because everyone had to give their message to fans to round up the event.

For fans of the series, I am sure this is a great movie and they will keep going back to the theatres to enjoy it. Not being a real fan, I may catch it again when it comes out on streaming platforms; maybe if I have time and they have an interesting free gift, I may watch it one more time at a theatre.

June 2025 miscellaneous calligraphy pieces

These are some other calligraphy pieces that I wrote in June 2025.

Practising the clerical script 隶书:

A draft for another upcoming calligraphy exhibition:

Trash taken out in four weeks
(not a lot due to a slower pace of practice)

May 2025 miscellaneous calligraphy pieces

June 2025 calligraphy "homework"

The "homework" pieces that I submitted for June 2025.

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 樹深時見鹿

Single character 一字: 孺

Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 柳葉鳴蜩緑暗荷花落日紅酣

Unsubmitted pieces:

May 2025 calligraphy "homework"

Saturday, June 28, 2025

F1 The Movie (2025)

I used to watch F1 races on TV back many decades ago, and recently too (including a short return when Singapore started hosting F1 races). So when I heard that there was going to be a movie about F1, it really sparked my interest. So between catching the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid movie and the F1 movie, which both opened yesterday in Japan... I decided to catch the F1 movie and leave the anime for Sunday (when there will be a live stream in theatres for a cast event).

F1 The Movie was shot for IMAX, and I thought it might be a good way to enjoy it, since IMAX theatres can give better impact for the roaring sounds of engines. So I dutifully booked my ticket and made my way in the hot summer sun to the local IMAX theatre.

I really enjoyed the movie. In terms of plot, there isn't really anything that very special: it is about a former F1 driver who returned to F1 to guide a rookie, and in the process, find himself. The movie started in the normal cinema aspect ratio, but soon transitioned to the IMAX ratio and more or less remained that way for most of the movie. Which is really great because you get to see more of the races with the taller IMAX ratio. And feel the nice roar of the engines on IMAX sound system. 😍

The movie also had certain scenes which I felt were homages to Aryton Senna, referencing how Senna once stopped his machine in the middle of the track to go help another driver that had crashed. Another reference was how Senna described one of his races at Monaco, where he was "in the zone". And of course, who can forget the rivalry between Senna and his teammate Alain Prost, which resulted in a crash at Suzuka in 1989 (and another in 1990 but they were on different teams then).

The tricks that the main characters in the movie used to try and win races, however, are more theoretical than actually possible. I mean, it is near impossible to control the results of a collision at the high speeds in a F1 race. But it did offer an interesting story, so I guess creative liberty and entertainment value outweighs reality here.

In the end, I think it is an entertaining movie and gives enough information so that even those who are not F1 fans would be able to more or less understand what is going on. Film using real race machines, it gives an authentic sense of action and thrill. Any F1 fan would do well to go catch it; any fan of motorsports too. Plus those who like to drive cars.

Meanwhile, this is another F1 race weekend, so I know how I am going to be spending Sunday night!

Official movie website

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Calligraphy pieces 自强不息

A while ago, someone asked me to write a copy of the motto of The Chinese High School (in Singapore) so that he could have a copy to frame up at home. I quickly obliged, and found that I liked the style of the words, so I wrote many more copies.

I used hansetsu 半切 paper size, which is around 35cm by 135cm for each piece. I adopted two compositions: the top one tries to use the full paper, while the bottom one is more spaced out like the original.

Another set of similar pieces, with the top one being more compact, and the bottom trying to follow the original spacing as much as possible.

I wrote a lot more, and if anyone wants to buy them, just let me know the alphabet you prefer.

Tighter, more compact composition

Looser composition that is more like the original

(Don't bother looking for the letters "I" and "O", they are not used as they can be confused with the numbers "1" and "0".)

Monday, June 02, 2025

List of songs used in Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン外伝永遠と自動手記人形

This is the list of songs used in Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン外伝永遠と自動手記人形).

(I got it from this Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/VioletEvergarden/comments/fxsgu4/list_of_musical_pieces_used_in_eternity_and_the/)

Part 1: "Call my name whenever you're lonely"

    The Voice in My Heart (Disc 1, Track 7): Taylor arrives in Leiden / Violet arrives at the school
    Torment (Disc 2, Track 9): Amy's anguish
    Ink to Paper (Disc 1, Track 10): Amy begins to open up her mind to Violet
    Debutante Waltz for Piano (piano, new in the movie, Echo Through Eternity Disc 2, Track 6): Violet teaches Amy how to dance / Violet and Amy bathe together
    Strangeling (Disc 1, Track 17): Amy dreams about eating a cake with Taylor
    To the Ends of Our World (Disc 1, Track 12): Violet and Amy get along in the school
    Unspoken Words (Disc 1, Track 4): Violet and Amy chat on the same bed
    An Admirable Doll (Disc 1, Track 15): Violet and Amy dress up for the grand ball
    Debutante Waltz (orchestral, new in the movie, Echo Through Eternity Disc 2, Track 5): Violet and Amy dance together
    A Place to Call Home (Disc 1, Track 14): Amy decides to live with Taylor
    Violet and Isabella (new in the movie, Echo Through Eternity Disc 2, Track 1): Violet helps Amy write a letter to Taylor / Violet bids farewell to Amy
    Letters From Heaven (Disc 2, Track 18): Benedict reads Amy's letter to Taylor

Part 2: "Just by calling your name, our bond will last for eternity"
    A New Era Begins (new in the movie, Echo Through Eternity Disc 2, Track 2): Benedict and Taylor in the bustling streets of Leiden
    What It Means To Love (Disc 2, Track 19): Taylor asks for a job at the CH Postal Company
    A Simple Mission (Disc 1, Track 5): Benedict and Taylor deliver mails
    Those Words You Spoke To Me (Disc 1, Track 16): Taylor talks about Amy's letter
    Another Sunny Day (Disc 1, Track 6): Violet and Taylor deliver mails in the morning
    Back in Business (Disc 1, Track 13): Violet and Taylor deliver mails in the afternoon
    Never Coming Back (Disc 2, Track 3): Violet helps Taylor write a letter to Amy
    The Birth of a Legend (Disc 1, Track 11): Benedict searches for Amy's address / Violet spends time with Taylor
    No Matter How Far (new in the movie, Echo Through Eternity Disc 2, Track 3): Benedict and Taylor travel to the Neville Mansion
    A Bond Between Sisters (new in the movie, Echo Through Eternity Disc 2, Track 4): Amy reads Taylor's letter
    One Last Message (Disc 1, Track 3): Conclusion
    Amy (by Minori Chihara): End credits