“Kyousuke is back!” a voice shouts. And then, everyone in the school dorm runs to goof around a senior year student. Kyousuke is the idea guy, the visionary leader, the creative force and the acting big brother of a group of five called the Little Busters, known and loved throughout the school. Soon to graduate,… Read More Kyousuke Natsume and Meeting the Crucified Christ (I)
This guest post was submitted by Bob Aarhus. In addition to his short bio at the end of the piece, I’ll add that Bob has been a long supporter of Beneath the Tangles and a model for this particular blogger in how to be a thinking, compassionate Christian. I’m proud to present this excellent article.… Read More Kimi No Na Wa: “Tears…Why?”
He is risen! If you go to church or are around Christians much today, you’ll likely hear this phrase repeated a lot, followed by “He is risen indeed!” Again and again, we repeat to each other the good news: Jesus Christ, God in flesh, the perfect man, who died on our behalf, has risen from… Read More Easter 2017: The Hope of Resurrection
Those of you familiar with Spice and Wolf know that much of the plot centers on trade. On the other hand, the conflict often concerns how Lawrence must weigh intangible goods like friendship against his more tangible business deals. Lawrence must make a living, but he recognizes the poverty of commerce in comparison to richness of… Read More Examining Light Novels: On Good Works and Goods
Some of you know that I am a big fan of Gintama. No show surpasses Gintama in variety: the plots cover all kinds of genres and moods, the animation stretches across the spectrum of awesome to mediocre, and the humor ranges from wordplay to toilet humor. All episodes of Gintama are not created equal. Yet,… Read More 12 Days of Otaku Christmas, Day 4: A Gintama Christmas
At last, we have come to the end of Orange. Throughout the story, we have been wondering whether it is, in fact, possible for Kakeru to make it out alive. With the danger that everything might turn out worse than before, only the ending could prove whether or not the letters could save anyone.
Squaresoft’s 1998 RPG Xenogears seems to have a way of pushing people to extremes. On the one hand are those who extol it as one of the greatest games ever made, citing its deep, complex story and flashy, martial arts-based combat mechanics. On the other side are those more than willing to declare it one… Read More Xenogears and Erzatz salvation
At first glance, the uncanny merging of Christianity with Trigun’s western/sci-fi antics seems as unlikely as Vash and Wolfwood’s apprehensive friendship. But the implausible combination ultimately works as irony—one that reflects the protagonist Vash’s many apparent contradictions: pacifist/gun-slinger, wanted criminal/savior, demon/angel. Try justifying those personas within a single person, and you have the enigma that… Read More Between the Panels: Salvation According to Trigun
The best anime—really, the best stories in any medium—capture a little bit of what it means to be human. The characters wrestle with themes like freedom, death, family, love, and corruption, whether in dialogue or action, and the audience relates, because we’re trying to figure out how and why these themes play out in our… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: What is Freedom?
“The mystery of this boon is great, dearly beloved, and this gift exceeds all gifts that God should call man son, and man should call God Father…” -St. Leo the Great, Sermon 26 Episode six of Re-Kan!, which deals with the love of parents for their children on Christmas, seems like an apt choice for… Read More 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 10: Re-Kan!