The Book of Bushido by Antony Cummins summarizes the landscape of bushido history and thought. Cummins touches on the contradictions found in the various writings that form bushido. He explains that the ideas we call bushido weren’t a philosophical system. Rather, each region and time period had their own set of rules, ideas, and aspirations…
Gift Ideas for the Anime/Manga Fan in Your Life
Gift giving can be difficult. Sure, you could fall back to a gift card, and while few dislike gift cards, there’s not as much thought or feeling in them as with a selected gift. Giving a gift that aligns with a person’s interests provides a nice way to support those interests too. I will start…
Is Bigfoot a Yokai?
Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch and Grassman, can be found in Native American folklore and in modern sightings. I know many people who have seen Bigfoot or something like it. Not far from my hometown, History Channel filmed a documentary about the Grassman version of Bigfoot. I’ve been all over those forests and had seen…
Berserk Deluxe Volume 2 Review
Berserk Deluxe Volume 2 covers the “Golden Age”, “Nosferatu Zodd”, and other arcs. As fans of the series told me, Berserk hits its stride with the “Golden Age”, but I didn’t find Guts to be the reason. Griffith steals the show in this arc. He presents a good foil for Guts. Griffith is a bundle…
Small History and Big History
History has two different and related types: small and big. Big history is what you learn in school. It’s the major events of the past: the American Revolution, World War II, the Thirty-Years War, Sengoku Jidai, and so on. Big history usually has some sort of date you needed to memorize. Small history sits on…
Summer 2023 Anime Review Round Up
New anime seasons don’t always interest me. I usually look through the new releases on various streaming platforms, but I don’t follow the release schedule. I don’t use MyAnimeList or anything of the sort. Usually, I read through the descriptions of new releases and give the first episode a watch if the description grabs my…