Death Parade has been a surprise hit for me this season, though I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise since I loved Death Billiards (shame on me for not realizing before the air-date that they were related!). While entirely different from Mushishi, Death Parade manages to evoke some sort of deeper, emotional response featuring a… Read More Anime Today: When Anime Hits Home
When I first watched episode two of Angel Beats!, my emotions were mixed. One one hand, I found Yuri’s background a little over-the-top and and the events of her past didn’t strike a chord with me. On the other, I started liking Yuri as a character and embraced her as the centerpiece of this series.… Read More Re-Viewed: Angel Beats! Episode 02 and the Problem of Pain
Anime is almost never a proselytizing tool. So, it’s no surprise that religion usually doesn’t take the forefront in anime series. Even when religion plays a major role, it’s typically bended and used for aesthetic or plot reasons (ex. Evangelion) by the series animators. Still, it’s ever-present in anime, as religion is deeply imbedded in the country’s culture. … Read More Anime and Religion Survey: Spirituality in Anime
What do you believe? Is there a God? What is your faith? Do you have a faith? I wanted to know how the aniblogging community would respond to these questions. About half of all respondents were either atheist or agnostic, with responses split exactly evenly between the two. In other words, 49% of respondents don’t believe… Read More Anime and Religion Survey: Religion of Anibloggers
Not long ago, I posted a beautiful anime-style short. Following a trail from Twitter, I was led to the site where it was featured, and to my surprise, it was Rober Ebert’s website. But, I was only surprised for a second – after all, the nation’s leading film critic (and the first to ever win the Pulitzer Prize) has championed… Read More Roger Ebert: Critic, Pundit, Skeptic, and Friend to Anime