I’m an old school gamer, the type that grew up making maps for myself. The habit stays with me today. I prefer to go into anime, movies, and video games blind. But it’s terribly hard to do that now. The Internet has made hype and spoilers almost unavoidable. As many of you know, I’m a…
The Man Behind the Legend: Prince Shotoku
Prince Shotoku stand out in Japanese history. During his lifetime, he was even seen as a Bodhisattva, a Buddhist saint, and he was eventually deified in a cult that flourished during the Heian period. Ironically, if Prince Shotoku had lived in China, he would’ve been a normal nobleman for the period. He wouldn’t have stood…
Haruki Murakami’s Portrayal of Women
Haruki Murakami writes bestselling postmodern surrealist fiction. His work often focuses on loneliness and alienation. I’m writing this article in response to a reader’s question about how he writes about women. I’ll focus on two books Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. This article will focus on sexuality and will quote explicit passages from Murakami’s…
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Actually Made Me Laugh
I’m not one for comedies, anime or otherwise. They usually strike me as dumb and trying too hard. My sense of humor leans toward satire and slap stick like Takeshi’s Castle (if you haven’t seen it, go watch an episode on YouTube right now!). When I saw Kaguya-sama come out in Crunchyroll, I decided to…
The Firefly’s Lovers
This story was collected around 1887 when the American William Griffis visited Japan. Many of Japan’s early Western visitors during the Meiji period collected and recorded the oral stories they encountered. IN JAPAN the night-flies emit so brilliant a light and are so beautiful that ladies go out in the evenings and catch the insects…
A Look Back at Winter Anime 2019
Lately, I’ve taken to watching current run anime instead of just older stuff. Winter 2019 proved to be a bit of a slow season for me compared to previous seasons. But I found a few that caught my attention. I also watched a few that left me wondering why I spent the time. Others I…