Most of us struggle with feelings of meaninglessness. Life feels like a grind to gain money. Then we die. We lose touch with why we live, and we fill our time with escapism like anime and manga and video games. Depression’s claws cut deep and hold on. Yet despite this malaise of despair, some souls…
Category: Understanding Anime
Sex in Anime and Manga
Sex is one of the most powerful and controversial words in the United States. People blush and giggle. People wince. It is a taboo subject that sells everything from cars to doilies. Sex is a sin, and it is an obsession in American society. All of this influences how sex is perceived by American manga…
What is a Postmodern Anime? What Does Postmodernism Mean, anyway?
Postmodernism is one of those stuffy words you see thrown around the Internet. It’s slapped on architecture, education, movies, and even anime. But what really is postmodernism? How can an anime be postmodern? Despite it’s name, postmodernism has nothing to do with being modern. I rather dislike the word modern because every age thinks itself…
Influenced By – I: Daoism and Onmyōdō
This was written by the guest writer, Jasmin Influenced by: Daoism and Onmyōdō With this post, I’d like to start a new series in which I want to consider the use of religious tropes and images in either well-known or current Anime. Since I am a self-confessed lover of monsters and magic, this first blog…
Anime’s Breast Obsession Explained
Boobs, headlights, breasts, jugs, chichi. Modern American culture worships the breast. But American culture isn’t alone. Anime too has a special fixation on the breast. While I’ve already addressed breast symbolism in anime, I haven’t discussed why anime obsesses over breasts. At first blush, this seems like a simple answer: guys. Guys like boobs, and…
The Three Measures: Contrasting Disney Princess Body Types with Anime Girls
Anime girls get sharp criticism for being unrealistic. Few women can naturally achieve the enormous breasts and narrow waists many anime girls sport. Breasts are fat deposits (sexy thought eh?) so big boobs naturally come with bigger ladies. Silicon and flukes of nature (blessed or cursed depends on perspective) make for exceptions to this rule….