I perceived a fascinating juxtaposition in the new arc of Boogiepop and Others. Boogiepop refers to herself as a shinigami or the Reaper, aka Death, but what are we to make of the Imaginator? The Imaginator is obviously the villain, but I wondered why a villain should be referred to as “he who imagines”? While pondering… Read More Death vs. the Devil in Boogiepop and Others
Us liturgical Christians are in the middle of Lent, a penitential season marked by prayer, fasting and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. It recalls the forty days that Christ spent fasting in the desert, in preparation for his ministry (Matthew 4:1-2). It’s the season that I struggle the most with, where I can feel a… Read More A Lenten Haruhi Suzumiya
Forgive me for having completely obvious taste, but Spirited Away is my favourite anime movie. More than that, it’s in the running for my favourite movie of all time, and if I had to pick just one animated flick that you absolutely had to watch, there’s a good chance I’d choose it over all those… Read More The Spiriting Away of JoshW
Today’s article is from Dr. Steve, who previously graced us with a wonderful piece about Interview with Monster Girls. We’re proud to post his latest, about one of this season’s series, Restaurant to Another World! Watching anime has typically been a communal experience for me. My first real encounter with anime—the one that actually got… Read More Communion and the Food of the Gods in Restaurant to Another World
Hola mi amigos! Samura here, back with another edition of Something More. This month, we have a couple posts that are different than our usual line-up of faith and anime, and more posts than ever! TWWK would like to introduce one of these links: Thanks, Samaru! I’ll start us off with a really thoughtful piece that’s… Read More Something More: Christian Anime Characters, Death Note Methodology, and the Reverse-Blade Gospel
Reiner is so very confused. At one point in episode 34, after joining with his partner, Bertholdt, to kidnap Ymir and Eren, he complains about how he needs a break and promotion from the military. The problem is that Reiner isn’t a soldier; he’s the enemy, but he’s lived as a soldier for so long… Read More Attack on Titan, Episode 34: Who is the Enemy?
A couple months ago I finished Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for the Nintendo DS. It was one of the most gruelling video game experiences of my life, so much so that I soldiered on through the last few hours less out of a quest for entertainment than out of a demented determination to not… Read More Moral Discernment in Shin Megami Tensei
I’ve lately been playing The Last Guardian, Fumito Ueda’s long (very long) awaited followup to his arthouse PS2 classics, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The game, true to Ueda’s style, is a rather oblique fantasy scenario where very little is explained to the player. You play as a boy who awakens to find himself… Read More Weakness in The Last Guardian
I almost despair at having something new to say about Final Fantasy VI. Although it isn’t the most popular JRPG ever made, many debates over what the best JRPG evurr is have boiled down to a match between this title and the near-contemporaneous Chrono Trigger. But on a whim I was inspired to pull my… Read More Final Fantasy VI and Advent
The 1990 NES classic Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse opens with a striking image. Our hero, Trevor Belmont, is seen kneeling in front a cross in prayer before heading off to slay Dracula. And, indeed, along with his trusty whip, an axe and a knife, Trevor also makes use of holy water, rosaries and crosses in… Read More The Inevitable Fight Against Evil – And Vampires