Chihayafuru is back! Arata is back! The new season of Chihayafuru begins with flourish as Chihaya’s team arrives at the nationals (and she collapses under pressure, again). But even better is that we find out more about Arata’s story, and the wee-bit-overdramatic teen we saw in an earlier episode is erased, and Arata once again… Read More Chihayafuru, Episode 13: Four Faces of God
One of the series I anticipated most going into the summer season was Kamisama Dolls, which looked as if it could have a great balance of action, sci-fi, romance, and even religion. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes, but not enough to continue with the series, and dropped it there. Others who did finish… Read More Fashioning Kamisama Dolls…and Other Gods
Labor Day is coming up – not a bad time to muse about Mawaru Penguindrum, John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and the Garden of Eden? 2DT ends his series of posts on Tokidoki Balloon with an essay about the soul of anime, using some occult and Gnostic practices to illustrate. Japanese missionary Kermit Bayless reflects on Obon,… Read More Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: The Soul of Anime, Obon Season, and a Papal Manga
Anime is almost never a proselytizing tool. So, it’s no surprise that religion usually doesn’t take the forefront in anime series. Even when religion plays a major role, it’s typically bended and used for aesthetic or plot reasons (ex. Evangelion) by the series animators. Still, it’s ever-present in anime, as religion is deeply imbedded in the country’s culture. … Read More Anime and Religion Survey: Spirituality in Anime
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