Did I really just figure out another blog post to do for my Forest of Souls post? Yes the heck I did!

I mean, come on. You think I’m going to not somehow pull through for my first ever blog tour for my very own book tour company? Come on now!

So as you have probably heard by now, I started a book tour company called Hear Our Voices along with some amazing people – check out our website here and follow us on Twitter to support our cause and keep updated for our upcoming tours.

First things, first. Have you seen the Book Trailer for Forest of Souls?

I’m loving this already! So not only is our main character Sirscha trying to be the official apprentice to the Queen’s Shadow Kendara, but she’s also dealing with working up the ranks of the Queen’s Company with her best friend Saengo. Even though she doesn’t want to serve in Evewyn’s Army, especially since the Officits and other people that just so happen to come from more established families than her like to treat her like trash (Lame, if I do say so myself) she does it because Kendara told her to. Anything Kendara tells her to do, she does, because she will do anything to make sure that she becomes the official apprentice.

There’s just something about the honor that main characters can possess in books, movies, and TV shows that revolve around Asian cultures or Asian-inspired cultures that remind me so much of this. So I wanted to share some of my favorite ones that I’ve been watching on Netflix.

Kingdom (2019)

Crown Prince Lee Chang was an honorable character towards the middle and end of the first season and the majority of the second season. There was a part in the first season where there was some controversy about something that Lee Chang did that ended up getting over 80 scholars tortured and almost killed because it seemed like he was a traitor to his family – trying to usurp the throne from his dying father – and while you have to watch the series to see if that winds up to be true or not, I feel like Lee Chang really ends up becoming a true leader to his people in trying to save his country from this plague.

I think this was one of the best zombie infection TV series that I’ve ever watched in my life. I watched it three times almost in a row and I’m tempted to watch it another time just because I can’t wait for the third season to come out already. I really hope that they at least filmed it and are working on production but I don’t know. I just hope that everyone involved in this show are okay and nobody was majorly affected by COVID-19. I shouldn’t be selfish like that.

My Country: The New Age (2019)

Okay, so I’m only on maybe Episode 3 or something on this one because the more I watched this series the more I was crying. The first episode starts in the future where we see our two main characters on opposite sides of a war for some reason, but then the series starts off as a backstory where they are the best of friends. So clearly we are going to see what ends up happening that makes them fall out.

The one character that I feel has the most honor in this series is Seo Hwi, one of our main characters who comes from a family that has nothing. He and his sister grow up poor because their mother died when they were young – I don’t remember seeing what happened to her honestly – and their father was branded a traitor for some reason. So Seo Hwi has been raising his sister who has epilepsy from a very young age and tries to make sure that he and his sister are taken care. Even if he has to forgo eating a hearty meal to make sure that his sister doesn’t starve, he will do so. He is just such a sweet eldest brother and I’m so upset by what happened to him throughout his whole life!

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)

You know I had to include Avatar on this list! Not only is this one of my all time favorite shows in existence, but I’ve been so freaking excited about this being back on Netflix when they finally announced it! It’s been on for a month so far, and I’m pretty sure I’ve watched the entire series maybe three or four times so far? I just finished it again over the weekend so I’m due for another rewatch. Ugh I can’t get enough of this show.

This may seem like a typical answer, but throughout the entire show, I feel like the most honorable character was definitely Uncle Iroh. Even though he may have made some mistakes in his past – way before we ever met him – he really learned from those mistakes and grew into such a wise and strong father figure for Zuko. He really was just an amazing character and one of the best characters in the entire series. I’m so glad that he was in the show, and I’m glad that he was in the entire show, and not just written out for whatever reason. I’m telling you, everyone working on this show did such an amazing job. Just literal perfection.

Ip Man (2008)

I still need to watch the final Ip Man movie but man these movies are some of my favorite movies ever. Not to mention Donnie Yen is one of my favorite actors of all time! I feel like he’s so underrated for some reason? Or I’m just not seeing him in a lot of movies because I’m uncultured swine. Who knows?

The true story of Ip Man during the Japanese occupation of China was just really emotional for me to watch and seeing how he never allowed his circumstances to change who he was as a person was really inspirational for me. I feel like Ip Man was really, truly an honorable man. I mean it got to the point that he wouldn’t even charge his students and that’s why his family wouldn’t have money sometimes. I know that wasn’t always good for his family but he understood that others weren’t in a position to pay him what his teachings were worth and he would rather them have money to feed their own families than pay him for lessons on Wushu. Just really amazing.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

I haven’t watched this movie in so freaking long that I ended up getting this on Amazon Prime. I watched the sequel that Netflix made, and although I’m so freaking glad that they had Michelle Yeoh return for the sequel, I’m still kind of bummed that she was the only one from the original that returned? It’s okay though, because it was still a really good sequel. Netflix did a pretty good job with it!

I gotta give it up to Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien for this one. Both of them were in love with one another but because of their respect for Yu Shu Lien’s betrothed that was killed, they didn’t pursue their romantic interests – although I’m actually kind of sad about that because I think they could have been a pretty happy couple, you know? – and they just really worked well together as partners. So yeah I would say they had a lot of honor.

Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009)

This was the most bloody, emotional and intense version of Mulan I’ve ever watched, and I’m so glad that I own this on Amazon Prime. If you ever want to watch it, we should totally do a StreamYard or something and watch it together because I can watch this again and again. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Disney version – Ming-Na Wen is my girl! – but this one was just amazing, and really showed how long Mulan was at war and how much she went through while she was gone fighting in the war.

And of course, I feel like after Mulan had gone through her depression, she had the most honor in this movie as an amazing general that took care of her men. She was an amazing strategist that could lead her troops into battle and win, and had the trust and loyalty of her forces, the likes that nobody had seen before. Watch this movie and you will see what I mean. It was just incredible. And the way she ended the war as well, after everything that she went through and even the betrayal that happened towards the end also was just absolutely insane. I can’t even explain it.

I had to do a little Uncle Iroh gif to end this post because I’m totally missing Uncle right now. Rest in Peace, Mako, the voice actor of Uncle Iroh. You did such an amazing job bringing him to life.

And I hope you liked some of the movies and shows that made me think about the characters that I felt showed me what it meant to be honorable in my own life, and in the face of adversity.

Do you have any characters that you would consider honorable? Let me know in the comments!