Over the next few months, we’ll be posting pieces written by Micah, a former Christian aniblogger. While his site, Otaku Collision, is no longer extant, we’ve arranged to keep a few of his treasured works (greatest hits?) alive on our site. Today we’re posting the first, about Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen (Trust and Betrayal). Coincidentally, in… Read More Otaku Collision Series, #1: You are Forgiven
There are many lessons to learn from The Heike Story: the cost of pride, the trauma of war, the insidiousness of bitterness. Every episode conveys these truths with both the elegance and firmness of a martial artist’s killing blow. But the true heart of this series is far subtler and as such can be easily… Read More The Heike Story: A Tale of Forgiveness?
Hatchan the Villain It’s during the Arlong Park Arc of One Piece that readers are first introduced to a group of fishmen who, led by Arlong, have taken over Cocoyasi Village, the home of Straw Hat navigator Nami. It’s a distressing development, as Nami had spent years trying to raise the funds to free her… Read More Newman’s Nook: The Parable of Hatchan
To say that the Todoroki family in My Hero Academia is broken is an understatement. The father, Enji (know to the public as Endeavor, the number one hero), was abusive to both his children and wife. He’s trying to mend his ways, but the damage he left is much more akin to that of a… Read More Todoroki and Breaking Through Ice and Fire
As of this posting, the United States is just over three weeks from Election Day, and while every presidential election is significant, this one comes during a moment of particular crisis in the country. Divisions are deep and visible, and the country is moving further away from reconciliation than towards it. Social media posts are… Read More Great Pretender, Human Love
The backstory of Uotani Arisa, friend of Fruits Basket protagonist Honda Tohru, is a genderswapped retelling of Jesus’ parable of the “prodigal” son found in Luke 15. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it was fun to say, and it got your attention, didn’t it? And there really is some great thematic resonance… Read More The Prodigal Uo-chan
Trains play a heavy role Pokémon Detective Pikachu—they come and go in key points in the narrative. Sometimes Tim Goodman, the young man at the center of the film, boards a train; other times, he chooses not to. His decisions not only lead to physical closeness or distance from his father, Harry Goodman (recently missing… Read More Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Getting off (or on) the Train