Together we could break this trap We’ll run ’til we drop, baby, we’ll never go back Oh, will you walk with me out on the wire? ‘Cause, baby, I’m just a scared and lonely rider Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, one of the classics of rock and roll, is sung from the singer to a… Read More Carole & Tuesday Episode 2: Born to Run
Love Hina, Saber Marionette J, Ranma ½, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Slayers, Detective Conan, Pokémon, All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, Video Girl Ai and Shaman King—do any of these anime sound familiar to you? These popular series all have one thing in common: voice actress and singer, Megumi Hayashibara, played a role in… Read More Megumi Hayashibara’s Impact On Anime
For a series as high energy as Bleach, there’s a surprising thread of loneliness that consistently runs through the anime. Each of the main characters have experienced either loss or abandonment, and themes like adoption and abuse affects others. The first ending song, “Life is Like a Boat,” hints at this tone, beginning with solitary… Read More The Spiritual Inspiration for “Life is Like a Boat” (Bleach’s First ED)
One of my favorite J-Pop songs is “CLOSER” by Joe Inoue, which served as the fourth opening song for Naruto Shippuden. Every time I hear it, I get chills. You can find the full version of the song and its official music video on YouTube. Most of the music video—admittedly with quite campy visuals—is a simple… Read More What a Hero Desires (“Closer” by Joe Inoue)
Serial Experiments Lain, with its vision of a world where the lines between the digital realm and real world blurred and blended into one, was a groundbreaking series. Twenty years later, anime fans are still deconstructing it (we’re doing our own series of posts on the show to celebrate its anniversary). The storyline, character designs,… Read More Jasmine Rodgers of Boa Reflects on “Duvet” 20 Years After Lain’s Premiere
No doubt, Kyoko Mogami is one of manga’s coolest characters. Originally introduced as meek and subservient to childhood friend and budding superstar, Shotaro Fuwa, she quickly reveals herself to be vindictive, determined, and a little crazy. In fact, Skip Beat focuses on Kyoko’s attempt to become an idol, not out of a search for fame… Read More Skip Beat, J-Pop Idols, and Discovering Your Passion
While anime conventions and anime blogging seem to be two neighbors on the same street, they’re drastically different culturally (though perhaps not unrelated on a spiritual level). Conventions are a brand new world for many of us, including myself and Annalyn, who recently attended her first con. But that’s an awesome thing for this blog,… Read More Interview with Mirei and Dancing Dolls R
Hatsune Miku brought about a revolution in 2007 that has enabled thousands of artists to break into the music industry with self-produced music sung by a popular voice. Within the world of countless Vocaloid songs, the allure of Christmas-themed music was too strong for producers to resist, resulting in a myriad of Vocaloid Christmas covers, and… Read More 12 Days of Otaku Christmas, Day 12: Merry Christmas from Hatsune Miku
Concluding our series on our favorite anime, JP (Japesland) and Kaze take the conversation in a very different direction, instead defining “favorite” (the quotes in the title are on purpose!) as “most impactful.” Many of you are likely familiar with Kaze’s strict anime grading standards, so his unique pick may surprise you! Also, we managed not to spoil it… Read More TangleCast 22: Our “Favorite” Anime – Kaze
For episode 15, as JP (Japesland) and Jack (R86) give us an accidentally overly-long episode on Vocaloid, sharing not only a brief history of the technology but also our individual encounters with and opinions of it. Both come at this staple of otaku-dom from quite different angles, managing to cover the topic in a unique way. What is it?… Read More TangleCast 15: Vocaloid