I’ve been slowly working my way through Okami, another one of those older games that I heard a lot about but never got around to playing. Set in a vague, “once upon a time” point in Japan’s past, you play as the wolf goddess Ameratsu, who a century prior had helped defeat the serpent demon… Read More Okami and the Christian Artist
This guest post was submitted by Bob Aarhus. In addition to his short bio at the end of the piece, I’ll add that Bob has been a long supporter of Beneath the Tangles and a model for this particular blogger in how to be a thinking, compassionate Christian. I’m proud to present this excellent article.… Read More Kimi No Na Wa: “Tears…Why?”
When I first saw anime containing Japanese folklore, I passed it off as fantasy content. I didn’t think about the youkai much differently than I would about fairies. I didn’t even notice that the word “youkai” was being used most of the time, as translators muddled along with words like “spirit” and “demon.” But over… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: On Folklore, Natsume, and Nature
Hola mis amigos! To all those who have been looking forward to Something More, I hope I meet your expectations. I am Samuru, one of the staff writers here at Beneath the Tangles who enjoys writing on video games and occasionally anime. I used to write a column on Geeks Under Grace called Treasure Chest… Read More Something More: Ghost Hunting, Spiritual Personas, Suffering from God and Djinns in Final Fantasy
Episode 4 of www.Working!! manages to incorporate Shinto, Christianity, and a realistic but humorous discussion of prayer into its comedy. So as soon as I saw it yesterday, I dropped my original blog post plans and switched to this. Shinto, Japan’s oldest and most widespread religion, shows up all over anime. Shinto folklore is key in anime… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Working!!, Shinto, and Prayer’s Effectiveness
Every-so-often, creators like to throw their fans a juicy bone–putting favorite characters into high-action power fantasies, or allowing an emotional build-up “just for the feels.” Fandom pandering can certainly lead to a watered-down story if creators cater to every imagined whim of their doting followers, but, sometimes, a little sprinkling of fan service can go… Read More Something More: Fan (Dis-)Service, Tsundere for Jesus, and “Playing God” until you Run out of Chimeras
Anime often revels in deviant storytelling. Add that to its cultural roots, and it’s easy for misunderstanding and stereotyping to occur among Western audiences. Christians, especially, seem hesitant to embrace anime due, in part, to its oftentimes default spiritual content. Witches, demons, spirits, and magic frequently flavor Japanese storytelling, which can sound worse in word… Read More Something More: Belonging in Bungou, Berserk “Sunday School,” and Dangerous Flying Witches
Anime, especially in the dark fantasy/dystopian genre, thrives on the concept of freewill. Death Note shows the futility of forcing the world into a mold to which it cannot conform. Kiznaiver reveals that shared adversity and duty-driven empathy aren’t enough to keep people (or the peace) together. Psycho-Pass… well… you get the picture. At least as far… Read More Something More: Fullmetal Anti-Semitist, Re:Samaritan, and Ultimate (Idolatrous) “Harmony”
Recently, Beneath the Tangles was invited to become a blogger for popular database My Anime List. Aside from expanding our organizational platform, we hope to utilize MAL as a mainstream bridge between the spiritual and secular in a way that reaches a primarily non-Christian demographic. Our introductory post, which has received almost 5,000 views, provides… Read More Something More: Tangles’ MAL Debut, Crane Game Gospel, and Kiznaiver’s “Holy Spirit”
I get excited whenever I see Christ and Pop Culture publish a piece qualified for the “Something More” column, and this one is certainly an original. I never imagined that the JRPG airship trope could convey so many spiritual truths about freedom and responsibility. Looking back on my memories playing through the Final Fantasy series… Read More Something More: (Gnostic) Titan Jesus, Christian Freedom in JRPG Airships, and Humility Levels Over 9,000