Japanese folklore is populated by many a weird critter. I am constantly amazed by the bizarre menagerie of monsters that Japanese believed populated their home country. Possibly the strangest I’ve come across so far is the Nuppeppo. The Nuppeppo is actually kind of cute, in a morbid, Tim Burton-esque way. It is a blob of…
El Cazador de la Bruja
I stumbled across El Cazador de la Bruja late one night while perusing Netflix. The description sounded interesting despite only rating 2.5 stars. I was nicely surprised! El Cazador de la Bruja is said to be the spiritual successor of Noir and Madlax. Since I haven’t watched either anime yet, I have to take the…
It is All About the Hair: Green as Grass
Green hair is one of the odder hair colors in anime. It is the color of nature. Green is also the complementary color of red. The green personality is also the complement of red. Green hair represents the cycle of reproduction and change. Greens also tend to be rejuvenating characters: healers. Yellows are also rejuvenating…
Shinigami–Angels of Death
The Grim Reaper is probably the most widely known persona of death in Western cultures. Most typically depicted as a scythe wielding skeleton garbed in black robes, this fearsome figure harvests the souls of the dead, escorting them to the other side to await judgment and their eternal fate. While this symbol of death has…
The Second Year in Review
JapanPowered turns 2 this month! I started the project to support the local manga/anime club at the library. As these things go, the club went one way and the blog went the other. While I enjoy watching anime time to time, I didn’t think I was a large enough fan to write regularly about it….
It is All About the Hair: The Orange
Orange hair in anime comes in many different shades. Sometimes orange hair is referred to as “strawberry” like in Bleach because of it’s mix of red and yellow elements. When you think orange hair characters like Bleach’s Ichigo, Ouron Host Club’s Hikaru and Kaoru, Shirley Fenette from Code Geass, and Spice and Wolf’s Holo. Orange…