Mission: Yozakura Family is a relatively new Shonen Jump manga series about painfully shy high school student, Taiyo Asano, as he enters the world of the Yozakura family. After his parents died, Taiyo chose to avoid close relationships, coming to the resolution that since intimacy with family and friends can be snatched at a moment’s… Read More Newman’s Nook: Yozakura and Church Family Ties
I recently began reading the My Hero Academia (MHA) manga. Yes, I recognize that the series is a good five years old. I even tweeted to that effect. Me: I just started reading the My Hero Academia manga. Them: That started over 5 years ago and we all recommended the series to you. Like a… Read More Newman’s Nook: Ignoring the Advice of Others
Stories of love and grace are timeless. From real stories of extraordinary forgiveness to fictional examples, these tales intrigue and inspire us. They serve as great reminders that as we falter and fail, there is someone greater who grants us grace. Boys Over Flowers and Boys Over Flowers Season 2 both introduce us to poor… Read More Newman’s Nook: Grace over Flowers
Content Warning—This article briefly discusses sexual assault as presented in both Boys Over Flowers and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love a good redemption story. From the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker to the conversion of Saul, stories about redemption strike a nerve. These tales remind us that our humanity remains beneath our own… Read More Newman’s Nook: Redeeming Evil Flowers
I feel inadequate in so many ways. This feeling is on display each time I write, preach, teach in the church, or try to share the Gospel. While I have advanced degrees, none of them are for those actions, and I sometimes feel like I don’t even have a diploma in writing, preaching, or teaching,… Read More Newman’s Nook: Inadequacy, Depression, and Shinji
The saga of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure crosses many years and multiple generations of the Joestar family, but the stage of all that follows is set very early on by one of the first characters introduced in the series. George Joestar is the father of the first JoJo, Jonathan. His life and actions have a powerful… Read More Newman’s Nook: The Grace of George Joestar
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an ongoing anime/manga series that tells the tale of the Joestar family across multiple generations. Their story involves high adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones with the addition of magical artifacts, musical references, and intense posing. As is fitting of the title, multiple characters are each given the nickname JoJo… Read More Newman’s Nook: JoJo’s Bizarre Family Impact
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
Last time on Newman’s Nook, I examined Kazuki and Toi of Sarazanmai. For the sake of completion, I decided this piece will feature our third kappa-boy, Enta. A complicated character, Enta is a boy in love with his best friend. He is confused about his sexuality and tossed into a world of kappas, zombies, and… Read More Newman’s Nook: Enta’s Dueling Goals
Sarazanmai continues to tackle complicated issues of desire and lust with gorgeous visuals, kappas, and of course, butts. In my first piece on the series, I spoke about secret revelations. This time I want to speak about two of our leads—Kazuki and Toi. Warning: Spoilers from the first five episodes will follow. Kazuki gives the… Read More Newman’s Nook: You. Me. Same.