While watching episodes for my 12 Days of Christmas Anime series, I noticed a word pop up time and time again – holy. It seemed out of place – a very religious, archaic-sounding word in a medium that was anything but. What does this word mean, particularly in context of Japanese culture and in comparison… Read More Of Kami and Buddhas: Holy Anime!
Sankaku Complex gave a short report on a real telling survey whose finding showed that 78% of those polled agreed that Christmas is an attack on Chinese culture. As with Japan, it seems that China may celebrate the holiday in a very non-religious fashion (no surprise – after all, the “Christian” churches in China are show churches,… Read More Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: 78%: “Christmas is an Attack on Chinese Culture”
I couldn’t resist including just one more anime episode (from one of my favorite series). Enjoy! Honey and Clover Episode 4, “Actually, I don’t like Christmas all that much…/The boy and girl are swayed” The Christmas Story The episode begins with reminiscing – Takumi thinks about Rika, and Rika and Shuji think about their past… Read More The Thirteenth Day of Christmas Anime
Love Hina “Christmas Special – Silent Eve” The Christmas Story Su and Sarah discover a love letter in Naru’s closet, which they and Keitaro assume to be written for him. Estatic, Keitaro decides to profess his love to Naru on Christmas; unfortunately, his excitement leads him to injure his ankle. Still, he continues to study… Read More The Twelfth Day of Christmas Anime
I’m not usually a big fan of Secret Santa arrangements. In fact, I recently went on a long diatribe about the evil of Secret Santa with my wife (who thinks I’m a Grinch). But when I’d heard about what Reverse Thieves does each year, I immediately jumped on it. I was terribly excited, until I… Read More Secret Santa: Kino’s Journey
Maison Ikkoku Episode 39, “Love Takes Guts! Godai’s Part-time Job Ploy!” Episode 40, “A Bittersweet Favor! Budding Christmas Love?!” The Christmas Story As Kyoko is doing some cleaning, she comes upon a rock that has meaning to her, and asks Godai to investigate it. While doing so, he meets up with Kozue, and realizes that… Read More The Eleventh Day of Christmas Anime
A plethora of anibloggers (including myself) are participating in the 12 Days of Christmas project, resulting in throngs of fun posts. One recent such post, by Rakuen at Borderline Hikikomori, mentions an important aspect of Christian spirituality, and one that’s important to think of this season. In discussing a certain character in the game, Arc… Read More Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: Sacrifice and Arc Rise Fantasia