Exploring Japan Through Anime and History
Roll Over and Die caught my attention at least initially with its 1980s fantasy feel. It s a straight pulpy dark fantasy dealing with a female protagonist chasing after the tormented scarred damsel in distress instead of the usual male savior doing the deed. I like pulpy fantasy slock. Slock, by the way, means drench or gulp. Slock stories are designed to gulp down and to quench boredom. If you…
Have you always wondered why public libraries leave so much space behind books? Or why everything is vertically stored instead of horizontally stored? Or maybe why archives are chilly? In a word: preservation. Books and Manga If you have a large physical collection of manga, anime, movies, or video game, I ve got tips for you from my experience as a librarian! Let s start with how you display your…
My first introduction to rakugo was through Katsura Sunshine, a Canadian rakugoka who performs in English. Rakugo is a form of Japanese comedy where a single performer plays all the characters, relying only on a paper fan and a small cloth for props. The storyteller remains seated in the seiza position (legs folded under under the thighs with the butt resting on the heels). Rakugo has a repertoire…
On July 1, 2026, Sony PlayStation announced they will stop producing physical media for the PlayStation video game console in January 2028. This upset the gaming community; this announcement affects public libraries. Public libraries circulate the newest physical video game releases, offering a way for gamers to try games before they buy them for their own collections or play games that they…
Witch Hat Atelier s first cour grabbed me from the start with its animation and sense of wonder. It has the feel of an old-school fairy tale. Although many wouldn t consider fairy-tale girls empowered by today s standards, many female protagonists show high agency for their time period. They chase their goals, even if it is marriage, and develop their skills often against the standards of their…
Each season anime releases in a deluge that all of us have to triage; there s only so much time! I ve dropped, forgotten, or felt meh about many anime more than I write about here. These past few seasons have been particularly full of anime that fall into these categories. Some titles have even surprised me with how I couldn t engage with them. I ve learned timing plays a role. I ve returned to a…
In an interview at Anime Anime, anime critic Ryota Fujitsu discusses his concerns about commoditization and the end of anime. Ryota sees the popularity of anime leading to its end as an important artistic work and losing its identity to become just another interchangeable form of entertainment: no one will pay attention to its existence. As anime becomes popular, it becomes a daily commodity, a…
Catharsis forms the centerpiece of some stories. When a story aims in this direction, characters and events are portrayed in binary ways, even when they re both on the evil end of the ethical and moral spectrum. While the story tries to make the audience sympathize with the protagonist, the protagonist isn t good, considering how revenge against their enemies drives them, with that revenge falling…
Confucius influenced the development of Japan in many ways, namely in the structure of Japan s early political system and in the idea of ie, or house. Ie became the foundation of Tokugawa Japan s social organization. In Tokugawa Japan, the house, another name for family, formed the smallest economic, political, and spiritual unit. To keep the organization simple: samurai families stood at the top,…
The Internet like to box things into binaries. You ll often come across the idea that men have an instinct to protect and provide, particularly toward women. Part of the claim rests on the observations of body dimorphism. Men, on average, are larger and stronger than women. Women, on average, tend to be more nurturing. The claim says this is because men went hunting and to war while women stayed…