Okay, so this one took a while. I'm going to blame the holidays. You know, All Soul's Day, Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, National Origami Day—all those classic November holidays that we here at Academic Exiles definitely observe. Or it could have also been the fact that despite all the big comebacks, we didn't really have strong... Continue Reading →
Let’s Rank Mattel’s BTS Mini Dolls
Sometimes, you just have to do what you know. And apparently, what I know is spending way too much time thinking about BTS merchandise. With the launch of the pop-up store House of BTS in Seoul, Mattel created another line of dolls inspired by those precocious Bangtan Boys. Instead of dumpster fires … I mean,... Continue Reading →
The Best and Worst of K-Pop: September 2019
We made it before Halloween! Barely, but it still counts. We'll get started right away on sorting through the October debuts and comebacks. I'm guessing we'll be done around February. WORST “Dumb Litty” by KARD S: Despite picking worst songs each month, there actually isn’t much out there that Amanda and I actively hate. Sure,... Continue Reading →
The Best and Worst of K-Pop: August 2019
September is almost over, so you know what that means. Academic Exiles is finally ready to post our list of the best songs of August! See you on Halloween, when we’re finally ready to talk about this month. WORST “Hit” by Seventeen S: Whatever “hit sound” is, it isn’t for me. To be fair, I... Continue Reading →
The Best and Worst of K-Pop: July 2019
Every time you turn around there’s a K-pop act debuting or coming back, and it’s pretty much impossible to keep up. But dammit, we here at the Academic Exiles try our hardest, consuming just about every new music video we come across. Knowing that busier (and probably saner) people don’t have time to obsess over... Continue Reading →
Let’s Revisit the BTS Mattel Dolls
The BTS Mattel dolls are upon us … or nearly. I guess some people have already gotten theirs, but if you ordered from Amazon and some other retailers in the U.S., they’ll start arriving today. This may shock people who read my original reaction to the designs, but I didn’t immediately place an order when... Continue Reading →
Let’s Nitpick Avengers: Endgame *Spoilers*
Don't want Endgame spoilers? Don't read this. Avengers: Endgame arrived last week, and we liked it! The movie is three hours, and while it is insanely well-paced, it is still an exhausting experience. Amanda saw it on a Tuesday and woke up on Wednesday thinking it was Monday. I also saw it on a Tuesday,... Continue Reading →
K-Pop vs. Thanos
Last year, I made a list of death predictions for Avengers: Infinity War. With Endgame upon us, I thought I would do something different. Sure, I could guess who is coming back from The Snap™ (everyone), who is staying dead (Loki) and who else will die (Thanos, duh), but where’s the fun in that? Also,... Continue Reading →
An Exhaustingly Deep Dive into the BTS Webcomic *Spoilers*
There be spoilers ahead… It’s been a pretty rough couple of months for K-pop fans. We had to deal with some gut-wrenching revelations about popular idols. Plus, the days spent worrying our favs may be the next revealed as stupid, misogynistic man-babies were nerve-wracking. So with our guts and nerves thoroughly wrenched and wracked, what... Continue Reading →