I suffer from Impostor Syndrome, and I am not alone. At least 70% of professionals report feeling Impostor Syndrome (IS) at some time during their careers (Gottlieb, 2020). Some time ago, Netflix approached me with an Anime Analyst position. This made my IS flare! After all, I can speak only toddler Japanese, and this job…
Why are Incels, Neckbeards, and Others Attracted to Japan?
Why is Japan the fantasy for the socially awkward? Why does its culture, its media, and its women receive so much attention from some online men? Since I’ve began to study Japan and the online social groups surrounding it, I’ve pondered these questions. I’ve wondered why generalizations and objectifications and misconceptions proliferate (Look at those…
Fact vs Truth in History
You’ve likely heard the phrase “history is written by the victors.” Because of this sentiment, historians feel skeptical about written histories sponsored by governments and winners of conflicts. In history, there’s also a tension between fact and truth. These sponsored histories may not be factual, but they are often truthful. After all, they explain a…
Examining Animation: Marin’s Smile
In this article, I’ll attempt to show you an exercise I used to do when I was working on my animation undergraduate degree. The exercise has you take an animation sequence and tear it down, drawing its keyframes (main points of motion) and some of its important in-between frames. Since Marin from My Dress-Up Darling…
My Top Couples in Anime
Long time anime fans have their favorite couples. I enjoy couples with dynamic dialogue. It doesn’t matter if they get together by the end of the series or not as long as the dynamics are interesting. In many cases, the relationships should happen because of the great character interactions. Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach offers…
Japanese Professional Wrestling: Strong Style
Strong Style is the most common type of professional wrestling. It came from a disagreement in approach between the wrestlers Antonio Inoki and Shohei Baba. Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling, which focused on what came to be called Strong Style. Baba founded All Japan Pro Wrestling with its focus on what came to be…