Blue Giant has been the toast of the animation festival circuit this past year and it’s easy to see why. It takes what can at times feel like an intimidating subject—jazz performance—and explores it in a dynamic, yet accessible way that will have both diehard aficionados and complete newcomers to the music genre tapping their… Read More Blue Giant and Yuzuru Tachikawa’s Jazz
Henry W. Longfellow, of The Song of Hiawatha fame, wrote Christmas Bells in 1863. The poem echoed the song of the angels on the very first Christmas: “Peace on Earth!” But it also reflected on the fact that the deadliest military conflict in American history, the Civil War, was at its peak. Longfellow’s poem was… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 12: War in the Pocket, Peace on Earth
What is friendship? How do you know when you’re friends with someone? The Christmas episode of A Place Further than the Universe grapples with this deceptively complex topic as Yuzu’s insecurities and past hurts rise to the surface and threaten to cut her off from the other girls, just as they finally make it to… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 11: Further Than the Universe and Friendship with God
It’s December 24th, a day of romance for high schoolers in Japan. Even Senpai, who never likes to get his expectations too high, can’t help but dream of how Nagatoro would appreciate him gifting her a present today. He awakens to the harsh reality that he’s “gross” for thinking as much, but the gift he… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 10: Nagatoro, Senpai, and Seasonal Distractions
I’m a Christmas music nut. I listen to holiday songs throughout the year and once Thanksgiving hits (I wait until then so I don’t wear myself and others around me out), it’s pretty much Christmas songs all the way through to the 25th. My favorites tend to be those that are carols or otherwise worshipful,… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 6: Toradora’s “Holy Night” Is Anime’s Christmas Carol
Christmas is all about gifts, but not just in a superficial way. No, as the Christmas episode of Akage no An reminds us, the joy of giving and receiving gifts comes from a humble heart. Personally, I would rank this as one of the most wholesome Christmas episodes of all time. After all, it’s hard… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 5: Anne’s Perfect Christmas Gift
In the wonderful realm of anime, we get to experience Christmas from the perspective of the Japanese, who view Christmas primarily as a holiday for couples. Perhaps this fits since a biblical marriage is supposed to mirror God’s love for His bride, the church! While many anime treat us with a lovely Christmas date episode,… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 4: Of Christmas Dates and Being a Girl – the Trials of Tomo-chan
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