For a while, I pondered the unlikelihood of the premise of 86: that a nation could have a slave army which reaped none of the benefits of citizenship and which fought without the direct coercion of the citizens. It is true that Spartans fought alongside their Helots, and galley slaves rowed as Roman soldiers fought… Read More The Roman Martyrs and 86ers
Deep within me, there’s a longing to be a superhero. I think it’s the same with many of us, which helps explain the popularity of the MCU, shounen anime, and Star Wars. And for me, this feeling extends not only to the traditional idea of physically saving people, but to other aspects of life, like… Read More Silence, Star Wars, and Someone Else’s Sacrifice
In my last Newman’s Nook column, I thought I was done talking about Sarazanmai. I was wrong. There are two more characters that merit attention—Reo and Mabu. Reo and Mabu appear to be the show’s antagonists. The duo are serving the otters by creating kappa-zombies when introduced in the series. Through flashbacks, forced reveals, and… Read More Newman’s Nook: The Martyrdom of Mabu
One of my favorite anime antagonists is Shishio, the evildoer from the Kyoto Arc of Rurouni Kenshin. Shishio looks like a mummy, replaced Kenshin as the battousai, is never really bested by Kenshin with the sword, and in the dubbed version of the show, he’s voiced by always-awesome Steven Blum. What’s not to love (or… Read More Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki and Laying Down Your Life