Anime has problems with its story telling habits. Habits we as fans often take for granted. It’s just how anime is, we say when we notice these problems. We overlook them. But in the end, these habits of anime–killing tension, breaking world rules, escalation of power, getting lost in complexity, flashbacks, and undoing everything–are just…
The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent
An isekei with a female lead? Sounds good! Unfortunately, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent has many interesting aspects, but suffers from a passive protagonist. Sei Takanashi sits in the center of a reverse harem in an rpg-like fantasy world. This is an isekei, after all. Like most isekei, Sei is overpowered. I mean, it’s…
What Was Happening in Japan When:
Sometimes I struggle to keep a large picture view of history. When I’m researching or reading about a time period, I don’t think about what was happening elsewhere in the world at the time. This causes me to keep a siloed view of history. Yet, we have evidence that humans from across the world have…
Kai Riu O, The Dragon King of the World Under the Sea
This week, we finish this folklore series with one more from William Griffis. This time we meet a dragon. As before, this version retains Griffis’s original text. I also included Griffis’s commentary. Soon after her arrival at home, the empress Jingu gave birth to a son, whom she named Ojin. He was one of the…
The Procession of Lord Long Legs
Let’s take a break from monsters and look at how insects are said to have lived in yet another of William Griffis’s collected tales from Japan. Lovely and bright in the month of May, at the time of rice-planting, was the day on which the daimio, Lord Long-legs, was informed by his chamberlain, Hop-hop, that…
Senbazuru: One Thousand Steps to Happiness, Fold by Fold by Michael James Wong
Let’s take a break from folklore this week: Senbazuru: One Thousand Steps to Happiness takes a different perspective than most books I’ve read about mindfulness. It uses the practice of folding 1,000 paper cranes to explain how to slow down and find joy in everyday life. Wong breaks the crane into 12 steps, using each…