Like so many science fiction stories preceding and following it, Battle Angel Alita follows the journey of a robot (or in this case, cyborg) who is learning who she is, and in doing so, is discovering what it means to be a robot and what it is to be human. These kinds of tales excite… Read More Battle Angel Alita, Vol. 5: Of Lost Sheep, Scapegoats, Lions, and Lambs
Happy Independence Day, all! When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the 4th of July. The spectacle of it all, and my budding patriotism, stirred such excitement in me! That sense of delight has waned over the years, but I want to instill in my own children the thrill associated with the holiday. We’ll… Read More Happy Independence Day!
He is risen! If you go to church or are around Christians much today, you’ll likely hear this phrase repeated a lot, followed by “He is risen indeed!” Again and again, we repeat to each other the good news: Jesus Christ, God in flesh, the perfect man, who died on our behalf, has risen from… Read More Easter 2017: The Hope of Resurrection
Most sports anime put a lot of emphasis on teamwork. One of my favorites is Kuroko’s Basketball, and I’ve written about how Kuroko’s humble gameplay reminds me of the humble way Jesus calls us to live. But DAYS takes a different approach, as Tsukamoto’s soccer mentors encourage him to stop thinking so much about the team and… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: DAYS and the Need for… Selfishness?
It might be silly of me to write a serious post about Mob Psycho 100. After all, nothing about this show is meant to be taken seriously, right? The main character, Mob, is overpowered, but he can’t even tell that his master is a fraud. His master, Reigen, has most of the wise, moral-of-the-story lines, easily identified… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Mob Psycho 100 and Being Beat up for Love
“Amen, amen, I say to you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life within you. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath life everlasting: and I will raise him up in the last day” (John 6: 54-55).… Read More Examining Old School Anime: On Holy Communion
Gungrave is my all-time favorite anime, and the main character, Brandon Heat, numbers among my favorite anime characters. The first time I watched it, I was hit by his fighting ability and loyalty. But as I watched the show a few more times, I realized there is more depth to Brandon, and that he is a… Read More Holy Week: Brandon Heat as a Christ Figure
For a long time, I felt out of the loop whenever Pokémon came up. It seemed like half the anime fans in my generation watched or played Pokémon growing up. Meanwhile, I didn’t watch anime until I was sixteen. My family didn’t have Cartoon Network, so I didn’t even watch dubbed anime in ignorance, like many of my friends.… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Leave the Pokemon Village
Merry Christmas… Christmas song lyrics — featured image by あしたばてんぐ | reprinted with permission
“The mystery of this boon is great, dearly beloved, and this gift exceeds all gifts that God should call man son, and man should call God Father…” -St. Leo the Great, Sermon 26 Episode six of Re-Kan!, which deals with the love of parents for their children on Christmas, seems like an apt choice for… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 10: Re-Kan!