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
My social media feeds received news of a second season of My Next as a Villainess with near-universal praise. And why not? Season one was clever and funny, featuring a memorable, amusing, and sweet heroine (er, villainess). And after a ten episodes of a fairly predictable (if welcome) storyline, the season ended with a bang… Read More A Short Musing on Grace and Catarina Claes
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
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody – Bob Dylan One of the reason that Attack on Titan is so engrossing is the character development. Some are fun for superficial reasons, like my favorite, Jean. Others are made interesting by their complex motivations,… Read More Attack on Titan Episode 47: All a Slave to Somethin’
I stumbled upon A Silent Voice when I was at my local library in the manga section. What piqued my interest was seeing that it was a story about living with a disability, something I seldom find in Japanese fiction. A story that isn’t about trying to get senpai to notice you, but instead the… Read More A Silent Voice and the Value of Human Life
If I want examples of condemnation and judgment, I only have to log into social media. But, frankly, I’ve had more than enough of these examples lately. I’m tired of reading Tweets and Facebook statuses that declare wicked and/or foolish people subhuman. Because, yes, condemnation has its place—but it’s not the whole story. So today,… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Redemption Stories in Naruto
I’ve been on a Fate kick recently. I originally thought the franchise to be contained to a few anime adaptations and visuals novels. Boy, was I wrong. Weeks later, I’m still wading through light novels, manga, and video games and starting to realize that the anime is a (very budget-backed) drop in the proverbial bucket… Read More Between the Panels: Sewing Seeds, Saving Shinji
The Narcissu 10th anniversary translation project continues with its recent release of A Little Iris. Unlike the previous Narcissu stories which deal with terminal illness, A Little Iris takes an incredibly different approach to the topic of life and death with even a completely different time period of roughly the tail end of the Dark… Read More A Little Iris: the Bleeding Heart
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13 (KJV) I recently heard a wonderful sermon on the value of friendship by Tim Keller. He spoke of how when it comes down to it, friendship is about a person choosing to be intimate with… Read More Charlotte, Episode 13: Welcome Home
A lot of things can drive us away from God. Most are subtle, as we replace God in our lives with money, success, lifestyle, relationships, or usually a combination of many things. And sometimes, an event pushes us away from God, as we purposely, in full realization, run away from our maker. In episode seven… Read More Charlotte, Episode 7: Ends of the Earth