“I’ll be here until you’re able to ride those waves alone.” Several years ago, I attended a family wedding in Hawai’i. The trip ran through my birthday, and as if a vacation to paradise wasn’t enough, I was gifted a ticket for a surfing lesson. I was excited and terrified at the same time—compounded by… Read More In Life and Love, Ride Your Wave
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of “That Anime/Light Novel Said Something So Well I Don’t Know How to Add to It!” Today’s thought comes from vol. 2 of Obsessions of an Otome Gamer. I was re-reading it and came across a passage I highlighted on my first reading, and it struck as… Read More Resisting an Otome Gamer’s Inner Ugliness
Don’t keep dragging the dead into your life. In episode three of Charlotte, we’re introduced to a delinquent named Sho, who is unable to let go of Misa, a recently deceased girl who takes over the consciousness of her little sister’s body. At the end of the episode, after Nao and the rest of the… Read More Charlotte, Episode 3: Dragging the Dead
Dear Readers, When I established Beneath the Tangles almost five years ago, it was with a singular goal in mind – to engage anime fans with a different sort of analysis, bringing in Christian concepts and ideas to how we can interpret anime. It was nothing unique – Christian Anime Alliance had long existed by… Read More Patreon Drive! Donate $2 to Support Beneath the Tangles
One of the most boring things a parent has to do is attend kids’ birthday parties. Seriously, so boring. The only thing a parent can do there is chat with other parents, but sometimes, even that option is cut off. Particularly, if you’re an outsider at the party, the other parents might congregate with each… Read More Hachiman Hikigaya and Busting the Christian Bubble
Personally, I loved the CGI movie, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and felt it was one of the best video game movies ever made (we don’t have much to work with). This is not a review of the movie itself, though I might write one; this is about a scene that I noticed while watching… Read More Gaming With God: Cloud Strife Finds Forgiveness
As much as I enjoy Clannad (I’ve written more than a half-dozen articles on the series), it’s not my favorite Key anime. My very favorite series of theirs, and one my favorites period, is Kanon. As probably is the case for a lot of you and your top series, it’s difficult for me to explain… Read More Kanon: Rising to Life
One of my most popular posts on this site was for a personal piece I wrote regarding Clannad After Story and fatherhood. I revisited the post recently, and it struck me both how much time has passed, as the article marked a time – now seemingly long ago – when my kids were practically babies,… Read More Revisiting Clannad and Fathers
For all of history, we have wondered at what happens after death. Every culture has some idea of an afterlife. Sometimes it is a glorious place, sometimes it is but a pit in the earth. Angel Beats! takes the concept of an afterlife and makes it the setting. The entire cast of characters are dead.… Read More Angel Beats! and Easter
What’s the deepest you’ve ever loved someone? Was it for your parents? Friends? A spouse or lover? Have you ever loved someone so much that would have pursued them, even if you knew you only had months left to live? Your Lie in April is full of love stories, ranging from a typical high school… Read More Kaori Miyazono’s Letter: Your Grace in April