Something More: Belonging in Bungou, Berserk “Sunday School,” and Dangerous Flying Witches

Anime often revels in deviant storytelling. Add that to its cultural roots, and it’s easy for misunderstanding and stereotyping to occur among Western audiences. Christians, especially, seem hesitant to embrace anime due, in part, to its oftentimes default spiritual content. Witches, demons, spirits, and magic frequently flavor Japanese storytelling, which can sound worse in word… Read More Something More: Belonging in Bungou, Berserk “Sunday School,” and Dangerous Flying Witches

07.22.201606.12.2018 Cutsceneaddict2 Comments

TangleCast 8: The Significance of Our First Anime (2/3)

In part two of our three part series on “The Significance of Our First Anime,” JP (Japesland), Casey (CutsceneAddict), and Jack (R86) share the first anime they watched acknowledging that it was anime. Despite their different backgrounds, our panel managed to find some surprising overlap in their answers, and drew some subsequent conclusions about the nature of anime exposure in the… Read More TangleCast 8: The Significance of Our First Anime (2/3)

06.02.2016 Japesland16 Comments

Something More: Sexualized Shipping, Islamic Anime, and the Love of Asuna, Ackerman, and Ashitaka

Tangles is no stranger to tough topics, and the sexualization of anime by fans is one we’ve delved into at length. As a cosplayer and massive fangirl myself, I’m often directly in the middle of the otaku community and consistently surprised by how far characters and narratives are stretched in order to sexualize them. Especially… Read More Something More: Sexualized Shipping, Islamic Anime, and the Love of Asuna, Ackerman, and Ashitaka

02.26.2016 CutsceneaddictLeave a comment

Sen to Chihiro, Control to Freedom: The Significance of Names, Here and Forevermore

So your name’s Chihiro? What a pretty name…and it belongs to me now. – Yubaba (Spirited Away) In the west, we’ve largely destroyed the art of naming children. Parents scramble to discover a name that’s unique (but maybe not too unique), memorable, beautiful, and timeless, but in searching for an aesthetically pleasing name, most will… Read More Sen to Chihiro, Control to Freedom: The Significance of Names, Here and Forevermore

11.05.201511.05.2015 Twwk7 Comments

Annalyn’s Corner: Spirited Away, Anime Heritage, and Christian Heritage

A DVD copy of Spirited Away has sat in my room for over a month, still shrink-wrapped. I’ve wanted to watch it for years—or, should I say, re-watch it. I first saw it when I was twelve, before I knew what anime was. I hated it. It was dark and bizarre, and I didn’t know what… Read More Annalyn’s Corner: Spirited Away, Anime Heritage, and Christian Heritage

08.10.201508.10.2015 Lex (Annalyn)5 Comments

Top 5 + Guest: 5 Best Popular Anime Series

There’s a not-so-invisible chasm on the Internet between folks who tend to mostly watch popular series – such as those that air on American television – and viewers who watch a wider slate of shows. Unfortunately, I think the latter group sometimes comes off as snobby (oh, your favorite series is Naruto, huh?), even though… Read More Top 5 + Guest: 5 Best Popular Anime Series

06.05.201506.25.2015 Twwk16 Comments

When TWWK Was There: Going to See Studio Ghibli’s Last Film

On a weekend in the fall of 2002, I went with a group of friends to watch The Ring. I didn’t want to go (I’ll admit, horror movies scare me to death), but I went along anyway – and thank goodness I did, because playing at the same cinema, and consequently the movie I ditched… Read More When TWWK Was There: Going to See Studio Ghibli’s Last Film

06.05.201506.04.2015 Twwk12 Comments

Beneath the Tangles

connecting anime and christianity in genuine community

Tag: Spirited Away