Day: August 11, 2025

Generally I don’t watch many animation musicals, or have anything for musicals at all. In fact I’ve mostly stopped listening to new music for years now, because it all just seemed the same to me. When a co-worker recommended that I check out KPop Demon Hunters and told me what it was about, I wasn’t sure. It kinda sounded like Jem and the Holograms cartoon from the 80s. The weeks leading up to actually watching it, I had forgotten all about it every time I got home from work. My co-worker then wrote it down so that I wouldn’t forget.

One night at home, I was wanting to watch something new, I thought, “let’s check out Netflix tonight”, and there it was. I figured, “okay” and started to watch it. The animation style was pretty sweet, not at all what I had imagined (no I didn’t watch a trailer first). The songs didn’t sound like some Disney mashup, it actually brought me in and in a good mood-set. The underline story and the plot draw you in, the action sequences were also very cool.

The songs are very catchy, especially “Golden” (it now has permanent residence in my head!). I like the inclusion of some Korean lyrics within the songs too. If you’re not a native speaker, it makes you want to know what they are saying, so you keep listening to the song over and over. You eventually find the lyrics and have google say the Korean lyrics and you study what it sounds like, that way when you listen to the song again, you can understand the meaning and actually know the words being spoken. You know, rather than making up lyrics in your head to sound like the actual ones, you now can say them in your head. Plus, to see the differences in how language works in other cultures is fascinating to me.

I was interested to find out the story behind the song writer for most of the songs in the movie, Kim Eun-jae “Ejae“. Ejae is a South Korean and American songwriter that experienced her own difficulties moving up in the industry. When I learned that she actually is the singing vocalist for one of the characters, I thought “that’s pretty damn awesome!”. From the few movies I’ve watched with singing in them, the actual writer never sings their own songs. She has a nice singing voice, from a raspy sound to high pitch.

I look forward to more from this universe, and from what I hear more sequels are to come.

One night bored out of my mind, I’m watching random stuff on Youtube. To my right I see a recommendation for a video, the thumbnail, “creepy”, the title, “interestingly more creepy”, I click it. The video starts off with a guy staring at the screen with a goldfish in a bowl to his left. The Goldfish starts talking, interrupting the host which causes me to laugh. I wonder what this could be about, so I decide to stick around and find out…. I then learned, I had done myself a huge favor.

What is The Why Files? I’ll sum up what it is in just one word….. AWESOME! What started off as a facts channel, turned into something amazing. Hosted by Andrew “AJ” Gentile (Actor, Writer & Producer) and co-hosted by a Goldfish by the name of Hecklefish Moriarty, AJ dives into some of the best Mysteries, Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and more… You’re probably thinking, “Well, I’ve seen other Youtube channels that do that, what makes The Why Files so different?” AJ doesn’t just tell the stories, he fact checks them too! He gets to the nitty gritty of research to find out just how much of it is true, debunking them if he can. In other words, he hooks you with the story, then rips the carpet out from under your feet with factual data. (Personally my favorite part of the videos.)

Waiting from his bowl for the perfect moment to chime in, Hecklefish is ready with the jokes. AJ can be in the middle of an in depth part in the story, he’ll say the right thing (example: “white powdery substance”) and Hecklefish will interrupt with a joke about nose candy. It will have you rolling on the floor. AJ will look at Hecklefish with the “you just seriously said that…” look of disappointment. Comedy GOLD right there! I especially like when Hecklefish will start talking about his personal life and go completely off the rails of the story. AJ will stop him and get back into the main story. Some people don’t appreciate the Hecklefish character, but it makes for a great laugh. Those people are just too serious!

The production style is a chef’s kiss as well. From the way he presents the story telling, all the way to the visual aids, you’ll feel like you’re watching an investigative documentary on a Network Television Station. There are not enough people who know what extremes a person can go through to make top notch quality like The Why Files. To add to the production, there are even Audio versions of episodes on Spotify called “The Why Files: Operation Podcast“. The interaction with fans is great too. On some nights there is a type of after party called “The After Files”, where you can hang out with AJ and the team and discuss even more interesting topics, (LOOK’n at you Gino!)

I recommend checking out The Why Files Discord server as well. I, myself, have a few pieces of merch from The Why Files official website. No, I was not asked to promote it, I’m just very passionate about The Why Files. So, check the Youtube channel out! As AJ mentions in every episode “be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated“.