In 2010, Twwk founded Beneath the Tangles to explore the connections between anime/manga and Christian spirituality. But he hasn’t been the only contributor to the blog—far from it. During the course of 2011, over a dozen other writers contributed guest posts, and soon afterward, several co-bloggers joined the team, to which another five were added in January 2015. In 2016, Twwk moved on to focus on family and ministry, and a leadership team under Japesland took the lead before Twwk returned the following year. Today, the following members make Beneath the Tangles possible:
claire – Editor, Writer
Claire is passionate about story in all its forms, especially visual. She loves to uncover where and how God is revealing himself in culture—across time and space. She’s a historian by trade, specialising in cinema. Claire is fairly new to anime, and so is enjoying catching up on decades worth of rich “archival material”. Though actually it turns out she’d watched anime as a kid, only without knowing it. (For years, she thought there was a class of transformer that were big cats, thanks to the original Voltron. If only she still had that complete mecha toy set, she could retire!)
Gaheret – Writer
The eldest of ten siblings who are all avid readers, Gaheret is a Catholic lawyer from Spain, too tall for Robin already but not yet serious enough for Batman. Interested in heroism, wonder, hope. and Christ, he looks for them from the realms of Philosophy and Theology to the Arthurian cycle, Dostoyevski, and comics. He discovered anime after University much to his joy, mostly through Beneath the Tangles.
Hayley – Social Media Team, News Team
Hayley is just graduated as an undergrad and will be pursuing a master’s degree in Asian Studies. Her interest in anime began when her mom first purchased her a Digimon VHS and she absolutely loved it. From Digimon, her fandom continued onto Studio Ghibli films then mainstream shows like Naruto and Bleach. Now she watches just about everything! As a Christian, she’s always found it fun to analyze media to see if any shows or books exhibit Christian influences. In her spare time, she enjoys trying out new hobbies and sports. Recently, she’s gotten into knitting, singing, roller skating, rock climbing, and ballroom dancing.
Ithileryn – Podcaster
Eryn grew up in the nerd community as primarily a gamer girl before it was cool, and was definitely playing Sonic or Skyrim any time she got the chance! She was introduced to anime in her early 20s and cosplay a short time later, which quickly became her current career. Utilizing her dance and performance background, she loves to bring the most vivid and extreme characters to life with both stills and video. Her specialties are sewing, wig styling, makeup artistry, foam crafting and photography, and Eryn loves to share tips and tricks with all of her audiences to help them hone their craft as well. Eryn’s desire is to inspire and uplift her audiences of all ages and walks of life, and to encourage them to find their own calling in this world. Eryn has a soft spot for children’s ministry, and has well over a decade of experience caring for kiddos in church nurseries and being a positive role model for students in her dance classes. One of Eryn’s favorite pastimes is lively discussion and analysis, and loves to spend time finding Christ in all of her fandoms, sparking deep philosophical and theological conversations with friends, family, and followers alike.
Facebook • Instagram • Patreon • TikTok • Twitch • Twitter • YouTube
Japesland – Former Director
JP is an aspiring businessman and linguist in the land of Japan. His tastes are always in a state of flux, but he enjoys anything with an emphasis on characters. His obsession with Japan carries into most of his interests, from books to television to video games and more. In his free time he likes to pose with bunny ears for caricatures.
Jeskai Angel – Writer
Yo-ho! Jonathan’s liked reading, video games, and trading card games for a long time, but he only became an otaku in 2016. After falling in love with anime, he later became a fan of light novels…which eventually led to freelancing as an editor and proofreader of many such light novels for J-Novel Club. He’s also technically a historian who’s written a scholarly study of junior officers in an American Civil War army (#shameless “Buy my book!” plea).
Joseph – Social Media Team
Joseph just graduated undergrad and is now attending medical school. He hopes to one day serve God’s kingdom as a medical missionary. After being forced to watch Code Geass by a friend in middle school, he realized anime wasn’t as cringy as he had thought, and has been watching it since. He’s also played volleyball for a while and claims to be better than Nishinoya. Aside from anime, his favorite video game series is The Legend of Zelda and loves to study philosophy.
Kelsey – Discord Team
Kelsey’s first introduction to anime was when her husband made her watch Mobile Suit Gundam Wing in college—and she has been watching anime ever since. She now is a huge fan of anime, manga, and Japanese culture in general. Inuyasha will forever be her favorite anime, but she will watch basically anything in the anime realm. Happily married and a mother of 2 littles, she enjoys reading, painting, drinking all of the coffee, and playing FFXIV in her spare time. Being a part of a community that connects faith with all things otaku has been an amazing experience!
Kendall Lyons – Small Group Ministry
Kendall is a writer, minister, and cartoonist from Dallas, Texas. He earned a Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry from Dallas Baptist University. His experience in writing, reporting, ministry, and creating content goes as far back as his boyhood. His first anime was The Adventures of The Little Koala, and over the years his interest in anime grew from Dragonball Z to Pokémon to Digimon to Outlaw Star and much more. He’s a hug fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, from the famous SatAM series to Sonic X, and the comics too. And don’t get him started on Case Closed (Detective Conan). A preacher since 2005, Kendall believes that “one truth prevails!” Kendall is also the creator of a webcomic titled “By and By,” which follows the misadventures of an 11-year-old Autistic boy and his attempts at understanding life and the people that are in it. He is married to his wife, Rachel, and together they love to write, draw, try different foods, and travel. Also, Kendall loves coffee!
KhakiBlueSocks – Social Media Team, Writer
Also known as the Cajun Samurai, KhakiBlueSocks is a Christian, a southern gentlemen, an “angry black man,” a commentator, and a blogger on life and anime, A virgin until married and avid New Orleans Saints fan, he’s written quite a few things, and looks forward to writing a few more!
Koboc – Podcast Team
A self-proclaimed Christian otaku, Koboc got his first taste of anime back when Ash was still going around the Kanto region in Pokemon and while watching Sailor Moon with his cousin, and re-discovered it when Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven were airing on Adult Swim, and has been an anime lover ever since. His favorite genres include mecha, sci-fi, mystery and… romcoms? If he’s not watching anime, Koboc is most likely playing Digimon TCG or a JRPG of some kind.
Laura A. Grace – Writer
Growing up, Laura A. Grace dreamed of being a Sailor Scout fighting alongside Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars. As an adult, she now dreams of being a volleyball player on the Karasuno volleyball team, a fellow pirate in the Straw Hat Crew, and matchmaker for a certain “couple” in Cells at Work. To indulge her daydreams, she often gets fanart commissioned with her favorite fictional characters and collects as many anime inspired enamel pins her husband will allow. She happily gushes about her latest manga reads (and anime memes) to her husband and three children, who may or may not like battling her with plastic lightsabers.
Lenlenkai – Discord Team, Small Group Ministry
Introduced to Spirited Away at 12, Lindsay has enjoyed wandering around the world of anime, from following the Straw Hats to secretly dreaming of being a water bender. Since graduating college, she has been a missionary in Asia, horse trainer, soccer coach, entrepreneur, and even voice recorder for children’s English books. She is praying God will one day send her to Japan, but currently teaches English online and is pursuing a master’s degree in Christian Counseling. Her greatest joy is in teaching others about God‘s heart for the nations. In her spare time you can find her listening to anything by Joe Hisaishi, sipping Jasmine tea, reading, or working out.
Luke Davila – Social Media Team
Luke was introduced to anime at the age of four by his father, who watched Inyuasha with him at the age of 4, sparking his love for the medium. and his love for anime began. But he’s a fan of many other different nerdy things as well, hence his username, “AVERAGEFANBOY.” When he’s not training in martial arts and in the gym, you can find Luke cosplaying and attending conventions. Though he has a strong love for anime and many other fandoms, his heart belongs to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who always comes first for Luke, who is living life to be a light in the world like him.
Instagram • Instagram (Cosplay) • TikTok • Twitter
Margaret Reinhardt – Graphic Designer
Marg has always been a geeky girl. She grew up a Navy brat, as well as a preacher’s kid, moving from place to place and finally settling down on the east coast. She’s a Nintendo gamer, Apple fangirl, graphics geek, font snob, and last but certainly not least, manga nerd. Marg first started reading manga in February of 2018 when she was pregnant with her youngest daughter to help take her mind off of all-day-long morning sickness, and the rest is history. Now she’s become an avid manga reader and reviewer better known as MargReadsManga on the Internet.
Goodreads • Instagram • Twitter • YouTube
Mecahawk – Discord Team, Small Group Ministry
A Christian and anime fan since his youth, Tyler has sought religious enlightenment through scripture and cultural enlightenment through anime. Much of his time is also spent gaming with a wide variety of tastes centered around strategy. He is happily married to his wife, and he uses his knowledge of political science and Humint as a moderator of the Beneath the Tangles Discord server.
Mike Staley – Podcast Team
Mike’s love of anime led to his interest in Japanese culture. This, in turn, has lead him to study Japanese in hopes of ministering in Japan. Mike’s a big fan of shonen anime and loves a good slice-of-life series. He’s always been a lover of combining geekiness and godliness, which lead him to Beneath the Tangles.
NegativePrimes – Editor
Dr. Steve, aka NegativePrimes, was introduced to anime while working on his Ph.D. in literary studies, when the local anime club showed Naruto’s fight against Zabuza and Haku on an auditorium big screen. His favorite anime series include FMA: Brotherhood, Erased, Snow White with Red Hair, and Gate, and he also enjoys computer programming, gaming, and technology. Where he finds the time for these, after prayer, work, and raising several children, remains something of a mystery.
Nyan – Video Team
From getting up early on weekends to catch the latest episode of Pokémon or Sonic X, to sneaking onto the family PC late at night for some Naruto or Zatch Bell! action, to studying Evangelion instead of for AP Psychology, Ryan has been watching anime since before “anime” even entered his lexicon. Perhaps it is what led him to eventually pursue a career in the film industry. When he isn’t busting his tail on a movie, you’ll find him catching up on anime/manga, grinding away at his ever-growing backlog of JRPGs, serving at church, experimenting in the kitchen, messing around on the piano/drums, playing with any new tech he can get his hands on, exercising, and sleeping (on the rare occasion).
Samuru – Writer
Michael (Samuru) is a school teacher, husband, lifelong gamer, avid anime fan and follower of Christ. Video games have been his delight, as have books, writing, traveling and a slight obsession with music via Spotify. If he’s not teaching, you’ll find him conquering digital worlds on his PS4 or on Steam.
sleepminusminus – Writer
sleepminusminus lurks mysteriously in the dark corners of the anime world, occasionally peeking out to retweet something cute or clever. Online, he spends copious hours smashing keys in osu!mania and binging old slice-of-life shows. Offline, he ponders theology, mathematics, and everything in between.
Splie/Archy – Discord Team
With a bunch of classic anime frequently running through his head, Splie’s full of references to drop and jokes to make. If any aspiring storywriters need help, he’s usually willing to see what he can do. Disclaimer: Jokes may or may not be a mandatory part of all interactions.
Stardf29 – Writer
Frank is known as “stardf29” on various parts of the Internet; it stands for “Star Defender 29”, which is something he came up with during his chuunibyou years. Now, when he’s not doing things for the Navy or indefinitely delaying his writing projects, he likes engaging in anime, especially of the slice-of-life sort.
Thathilomgirl – Social Media Team
Having just finished her undergraduate degree recently, Michelle is continuing her stay in Melbourne as she learns to navigate her way through adult life (permanently, she hopes). When she’s not holing herself up in her room with anime and manga, she’s either roaming the city for ramen and milk tea or thinking intensely about her current favorite series.
TWWK – Director
A little Speed Racer here, some Transformers there, and without even realizing it, TWWK’s childhood had dotted with anime. But it was the later discovery of Digimon, Toonami, and Princess Mononoke that entrenched him in the world of anime, while Evangelion sealed the deal. Today, you can find him hanging out with his family, serving at church, and of course, watching anime.
Uvierain – News Team, Merchandise
Uvie is a faith-based visual and vocal artist. She finds value in deriving Biblical truth from media and exploring their connections. Art is her ministry.
WacOtaku – Social Media Team
Three years stationed in Yokosuka, Japan back in his US Navy days may not have made Hayden “go native” but he definitely picked up a few things along the way- such as a love of Japanese curry, a fascination with rakuguo, and a long-distance love affair with the city of Nagasaki. As his beloved alma mater Baylor University’s official beverage is Dr Pepper, he can confirm Okabe Rintaro’s claim that it is indeed the drink of intellectuals.
Whit – Streamer
Whit fell in love with anime the moment she started watching Fruits Basket with her dad as a child. Pretty soon after, her favorite pastime became drawing her favorite characters and creating a few of her own. As a teen, she started selling her art at cons and began to see all the beautiful and unique ways God could open doors and speak through art. After all, He is the original creator. Fast forward many years and many open doors, Whit now works professionally in the TV & Game industry as an artist… but still makes time to indulge in anime and draw her favorite characters.
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