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
One Piece is a long-running story about pirates. It is one of the biggest franchises in the world. A huge reason for that, in my opinion, is how the characters relate to each other. These pirates are a real family. Let’s give a few examples. Nico Robin When we are first introduced to Nico Robin… Read More Newman’s Nook: Pirate Family
I first watched Neon Genesis Evangelion as an 18 year old, new to the anime medium. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was just enthralled by all the large-scale combat between the angels and the Eva units. With the series dropping on Netflix, I decided to re-watch the series in 2020. Let me tell you, now as… Read More Newman’s Nook: What’s in a Name?
A few weeks back, I was looking through my Twitter analytics and something hit me: I realized that I’d been losing followers pretty much all year. It was to be expected—I had a modestly-sized Twitter account that had grown initially based on my political tweets (my politics have since changed) and from parenting tweets. My… Read More Newman’s Nook: Welcoming as Straw Hats
Sukeyo Fuchi was a renowned stage performer, a beauty well known for her gripping performances. Her daughter, Kasane, however, is known as the ugly girl in school and is openly mocked. When Sukeyo dies, Kasane remembers her mother telling her to take a certain lipstick out of her drawer to use it for herself. Stolen… Read More Newman’s Nook: I Am Kasane
Wakana Gojo is a shy high school boy with a passion for sewing clothing for hina dolls. Marin Kitagawa is a popular girl who is very interested in jumping into cosplay, but isn’t capable of making costumes. The crossing of their interests and the relationship that develops from it forms the basis of the manga… Read More Newman’s Nook: Don’t be a Doormat
It was 2004. I was a senior in undergrad living in an off-campus apartment. My bedroom was on the first floor and that was where I did my gaming. I adored my Gamecube and had recently obtained a game where you play a character who lives in a lively little town filled with anthropomorphic animals… Read More Newman’s Nook: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Animal Crossing
Novel coronavirus is changing the way most of us are living out lives. Through the pandemic, we find ourselves separated from each other. Schools, businesses, universities, and churches are closing doors until further notice. This makes for incredibly challenging times as we are all alone together. Over a month ago. I started writing a piece… Read More Newman’s Nook: Pandemic Loneliness
Claymore was a manga (and later anime) series set in a medieval fantasy world filled with monsters called Yoma. To combat the monstrous Yoma, an unnamed organization establishes a warrior program. These warriors, colloquially called claymores (matching the massive swords they wield), go where needed to kill Yoma. The claymore warriors are all female. Through… Read More Newman’s Nook: Living Tools
Two Similar, but Dissimilar Men Barrage was a short lived manga series from 2012 written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. The story is set in a futuristic, yet feudal world, and the first chapter introduces us to two different men of identical appearance. The first man is the titular Barrage, prince of the land and… Read More Newman’s Nook: Astro’s Family