Strange Monster
I love monsters that breathe no fire, guard no treasure, live in their own creepy ways, are unharmed by heroes or capitalism –
Baku, for instance, is a monster that feeds on dreams. Headless Xiantian turns his nipples into eyes and navel into mouth, dances with a shield and an axe. A drowned girl turns into a bird, called Jianwei, which drops pebbles into the ocean to fill it. The songs of Sirens lead the sailors astray. The singing Mermaids, riding seaward on the waves, would not sing a song to J. Alfred Prufrock.
All these little creatures are more lively, more curious, more fascinating than the saliva dripping Aliens of Hollywood or a Tamagotchi in monotonous pixels and beeps.