As the Spirit Moves You: How Studio Ghibli Films Leave Room for A Range of Religious Interpretations

Today’s guest post is by Kaitlyn Ugoretz, a PhD student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara whose research focuses on the globalization of Shinto through popular and digital media and the growth of online Shinto communities. Since childhood, my life has been suffused with… Read More As the Spirit Moves You: How Studio Ghibli Films Leave Room for A Range of Religious Interpretations

09.23.201909.25.2019 Twwk4 Comments

The Prodigal Uo-chan

The backstory of Uotani Arisa, friend of Fruits Basket protagonist Honda Tohru, is a genderswapped retelling of Jesus’ parable of the “prodigal” son found in Luke 15. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it was fun to say, and it got your attention, didn’t it? And there really is some great thematic resonance… Read More The Prodigal Uo-chan

08.30.201908.28.2019 JeskaiAngel1 Comment

J. Michael Tatum on Iida, Audience, and Searching for Something Greater

At this year’s Kumoricon, @vintageinmyveins, one of our writers and podcasters (Team Trinity), visited with voice actor J. Michael Tatum. Voicing classic characters like Kraft Lawrence (Spice and Wolf) and Isaac (Baccano!), as well as fan favorites from recent series like Attack on Titan (Erwin Smith) and My Hero Academia (Tenda Iida), Tatum is one… Read More J. Michael Tatum on Iida, Audience, and Searching for Something Greater

12.03.201811.30.2018 Twwk1 Comment

Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 09

When I was younger, Serial Experiments Lain made me very uncomfortable. I was neck deep in my religion, and as a passionate but young believer that was part of a conservative congregation, I was quick to judge those around me and even the pieces of art I watched. Lain troubled me so much that I… Read More Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 09

09.20.201810.17.2018 Twwk3 Comments

Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 08

It’s hardly a surprise that in a country where Shinto temples and belief in kami run alongside Buddhist precepts and practical atheism that the concept of god as presented in Lain is very different from that of a Christocentric view. Lain’s “God of the Wired” is omniscient, but not omnipotent; he is all-knowing, but unable… Read More Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 08

09.13.201810.17.2018 TwwkLeave a comment

Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 06

From the very beginning, Serial Experiments Lain is unusual, abstract, hard to grasp. Just when you think the show couldn’t get any stranger, it does, with episode six taking us deeper into the strangeness and also pulling us out. While the mysteries of the Wired, the Knights, and Lain herself deepen (with the most remarkable… Read More Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 06

08.31.201810.17.2018 Twwk2 Comments

Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 04

Serial Experiments Lain famously delves into topics like communication, technology, and social constructs, and we’ve seen all those expressed in the first few episodes. But as we continue our dive into Lain for the show’s twentieth anniversary, we’ve hit an episode with another theme that hasn’t yet been explored, and a title that matches. Episode… Read More Serial Experiments Lain Revisited: Episode 04

08.17.201808.11.2018 Twwk4 Comments

Beneath the Tangles

connecting anime and christianity in genuine community

Tag: religion