Urusei Yatsura stands as Rumiko Takahashi’s first serialized work. Rumiko, if you aren’t familiar with her, is one of the most influential manga artists: her career spans from 1978 to today. She created a range of works, including Inuyasha. Urusei Yatsura ran as an anime series in the 1980s and was remade in 2022. Urusei…
The [American] Politicization of Anime
It seems everything in the United States has a political dimension to it, even to what type of bath soap you decide to buy! Anime, unfortunately, is no different. It’s not unusual for me to receive an ugly message that touches on political or racial topics. I’m more troubled by the lack of understanding such…
How Does Being an Idol Fan Benefit You?
The idol fandom–Japanese and Korean–has many different aspects that can be positive, neutral, and negative. I’ve written a few times about the negative side, and I will touch on that side again in this article. Everything positive has a negative side built into it. Understanding that negative side emphasizes the positive. Unlike anime and manga’s…
Could South Korea or Japan Disappear?
Could South Korea or Japan disappear as nations? For those who asked this question: my apologies for taking forever to answer it. Modern nation-states, at least the developed ones, seem too solid to just disappear. Conquered, sure. But disappear? However, it has happened in the past. Amazonian and Mayan civilizations, for example, disappeared. Jomon civilization in…
The “Precious Memories” Theme in Anime
If you’ve watched anime or read manga for any length of time, you will have come across the phrase “precious memories.” This phrase appears across all sorts of genres, most often in slice-of-life stories. When I first got into anime, in my early-to-mid 20s, the phrase made me cringe a bit. It struck me as…
Suzume: A Door Opens to Another Coming of Age Story
Suzume released in 2022, and I only got around to watching it in 2025. You might be surprised to learn that I don’t watch cinematic, stand-alone anime films all that often. I find it hard to cordon two hours to watch a single film. I don’t watch live-action films for the same reason. I’m bad…