September 2025 calligraphy "homework"

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

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 愁倚兩三松

 
Single character 一字: 稀

 
Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 雲高氣静

 

Unsubmitted pieces:

 

Slight different style

August 2025 calligraphy "homework"

 

日夜痛

日日夜夜痛痛痛 

岁岁年年苦苦苦

春夏秋冬皆寂寞 

东南西北是悲哀

Watching The Silent Service: The Great Sea Battle of the Arctic Ocean on opening day

 

The Silent Service: The Great Sea Battle of the Arctic Ocean (沈黙の艦隊 北極海大海戦), a sequel to The Silent Service (沈黙の艦隊) live adaptation movie, opened in Japanese theatres today. Unlike the first movie, this one was not being shown on the largest screen at the local cinema, because Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, a movie from the very popular Chainsaw Man series, recently premiered in Japan.

 

This time, the movie was 132 minutes, longer than the first movie. It continues from the 8-episode TV series (which covers the first movie and extends until Yamato sets off for New York) to cover all the way until Yamato reaches just outside New York. Again, the movie involved a lot of computer graphics, with submarine action as well as large-scale surface fleet action. The movie was well paced, with exciting action scenes and taking breaks along the way to show the politic events in Japan and the United States.

 

I am glad the movie continued to stay true to the story, portraying the United States as a powerful but arrogant country. Given the current times, it may not actually be too far from the truth, and I think this movie resonates with the Japanese people of today, especially with the current political climate.

 

According to Wikipedia, the final part of the manga takes place in New York. Given the political nature of this final arc, and the lack of action, I don't think there will be a movie sequel. Hopefully, it will be included when they turn this movie into a second season of the TV series. 

 

Official movie website (in Japanese) 

Watching Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc with livestream of cast event

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (劇場版 チェンソーマン レゼ篇) premiered in Japanese theatres yesterday, but I held off watching it because there was going to be a livestream of a cast event today.

It was an interesting 100-minute movie, with contrast between the slower pace of the first half and the bizarre second half. The twist in the story was also really unexpected for me, being someone who hasn't read the manga, but there were small clues along the way. The entire movie was gripping and I found the overall pace to be really good. Needless to say, it was extremely well animated too, with excellent music scoring. 

 

The cast event took place after the movie. It featured the voice actors for Denji, Reze, Makima, Aki, Kobeni, Angel Devil, and Violence Fiend. It was interesting to hear them talk about the recording sessions and their thoughts on the series.

 

Official website (in Japanese)

Total lunar eclipse September 2025

A total lunar eclipse occurred in the wee hours of 8 September 2025. It was supposed to peak at 0311 local time. (Note: All photographs taken with a Canon EOS 550D, focal length 400mm, aperture f/6.3, ISO 400)

 

At 0104, the moon was still bright. (exposure 1/500s)

 

By 0129, the moon has started to "disappear". (exposure 1/500s)

 

0159, moon about half gone. (exposure 1/500s)

 

0214, starting to turn red. (exposure 1/500s)

(exposure 1s)

 

0232, the moon has more or less entered total lunar eclipse. (exposure 2s)

 

0248, really red now. (exposure 2s)

 

0311, peak. (exposure 2s)

 

0331, getting really sleepy so I took a last photo and did not wait for the moon to exit earth's shadow. (exposure 2s)

During total eclipse, I took more photographs at 5s exposure. However, without a proper star mount, the photos turned out a bit blur. But it was easier to appreciate the redness of the lunar eclipse in those photos with 5s exposure. For example, this was taken at 0311 with 5s exposure.

 

The last time I photographed a total eclipse was in 2022, when it occurred with Uranus lunar occultation.

Total lunar eclipse and Uranus lunar occultation