Despite how odd anime and manga appears, with their fan service and visual language and odd stories, they’re tame compared to Japan’s literature. I spend a fair bit of time beating up on fan-service, but fan-service doesn’t compare to shunga and the woodblock print books from the Edo period. Manga has roots in ukiyo-e, or…
Category: Otaku Culture
The Dangers Behind MyAnimeList and Goodreads
We’ve been trained by the so-called free Internet to disregard the value of our information. Although this begins to change, we still don’t think anything about leaving a comment on a YouTube video or keeping our MyAnimeList pages and Goodreads lists updated. Of course, these services are useful. YouTube suggests videos I would miss otherwise….
Understanding Culture Blindness
A fish doesn’t notice water. You can’t see the forest for the trees. Whenever I visit Amish country, as we call the areas where the Amish live, I’m struck by how a group I’m familiar with can seem foreign to others. If you don’t know, the Amish is a religious group that eschews owning technology…
Examining the Rising of the Shield Hero Controversy
Well, it looks like anime has another controversy on the order of Goblin Slayer’s episode 1 content issue. Across various review websites, such as MyAnimeList, people have spoke out against Rising of the Shield Hero because of a plot device used in the first episode. Rising of the Shield Hero looks to be yet another isekai…
Your Face Isn’t Good Enough: Filters and Kawaii Culture
Social media has become such a part of our lives that we can barely remember what the Internet was like before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and the rest. However, research has linked social media with all kinds of problems, from bullying to depression. The photo sharing and the ubiquitous profile photo has a large influence…
What is Best for Anime: Streaming or Physical Media?
When I first began brainstorming this post, I considered visiting the old Blu-Ray versus DVD debate. It shares similarities with the older Betamax versus VHS battle. Only Blu-Ray and DVD are not mutually exclusive. Combo players are inexpensive, unlike during the videotape war. Blu-Ray is only slightly more expensive than DVD nowadays too. The true…