As I’ve emphasized in the past, Japan is by no means a Christian nation. Estimates place the country’s Christian population at around 1-2%. So it’s no surprise that the anime industry employs only a handful that openly claim to be Christian. But there are a few. The most famous might be Trigun creator Yasuhiro Nightow… Read More Christian Seiyuu: Michie Tomizawa
2DT wrote a wonderful post about the common separate between anime fans and religious folk on his blog. Referencing my anibloggers and religion survey from last year, he discusses the idea that it seems most anime fans simply aren’t interested (or are even against) organized religion. 2DT postulates that a reason for this is that… Read More Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: Choosing Anime Over Jesus
With a plethora of new shows on my plate this season, and in the middle of The World God Only Knows, Witch Hunter Robin, and Ookiku Furikabutte, you’d think I’d have plenty to watch if I was in the mood for anime. And so, which of these did I pick last night? I started a… Read More Someday’s Dreamers ~Summer Skies~ Episode 01: Washing Feet
Weeks past the tweet and blogfest that was Puella Shoujo Madoka Magica episode 12, I felt the need to add one more piece to the already-considerable pile of writings about the finale. While I’ve already discussed Christian motifs of the episode, and others have commented extensively on its various religious aspects, I wanted to focus… Read More Madoka, Homura, and a Yuri Embrace of Grace
Who would’ve known that Anime Boston 2011 would’ve been such a gold mine for posts about Christianity? I’ve already given links to posts about con-goers celebrating Easter and Charles Dunbar’s panel. Here is a third addition to this group of posts, focusing on a cosplayer known as con-Jesus. The team behind Cosplay Nation, an in-the-works… Read More Any Excuse to Avoid a Shave: con-Jesus at Anime Boston 2011
Suffering. Death. Hope. Life. These themes pervade Magica Madoka, particularly informing the final two episodes. They are also important ideas in religious traditions, namely Christianity and Buddhism. The Buddhist principals expressed in Madoka Magica are so pervasive, that I’ve started to think that the Christlike imagery I immediately saw when viewing episode 12 wasn’t at… Read More Puella Magi Madoka Magica 12: The Hope We Find
As I try to find the time to marathon Puella Magi Madoka Magica in an attempt to avoid any more spoilers, I had to stop to write about episode seven, in which allusions to and mentions of Christianity are far stronger than in any other episode to this point of the series. Though a few… Read More Puella Magi Madoka Magica 07: From Adam to Jesus
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