Determination sits at the top of anime’s favorite themes. When I first considered writing about this, the obviousness of determination made me wonder what I could say about it that wasn’t, uh, obvious. Anime heroes are determined to achieve their goals. Full stop. They aren’t any different from heroes in other stories. But there is…
Author: Chris Kincaid
Anime for the Brokenhearted
If you are brokenhearted, anime can offer some reprieve. Relationships can be rough, and they often end. If you are like me, when I’m brokenhearted I want to watch relationship stories. There’s something comforting in seeing people work through their relationship problems. Of course, sometimes you also want something cathartic. Anger and frustration remain part…
Storytelling in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Many people criticized The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild for its lack of storytelling. As I revisit the game, I struggle to understand their viewpoints. After all, Breath of the Wild features more storytelling than any other entry in the series. But all of it is subtle. For example, when I wandered into…
Christians can Learn From Anime Too
Usually I avoid discussing my beliefs on JP. However, (the week I write this) I had an encounter with a Bible-bound lady and then read a thoughtful article on Beneath the Tangles about Christians blogging about Yaoi and Yuri. They sat in contrast to each other. The Bible-bound lady pontificated about how Halloween was wrong…
Arifureta and the Not-So-Common Protagonist
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest runs as a common power-trip isekai. Hajime Nagumo and his classmates transport to a fantasy world modeled after the usual RPG tropes. Hajime doesn’t stand out. He’s not strong, fast, or proficient at anything except material transmutation. When they go into a labyrinth, Hajime is separated from the rest and plunged…
Seneca, Anime, and Time
In recent months, I’ve been thinking about time and reading Seneca and other Roman thinkers. We treat time as something of little value. If someone broke into our home and stole a television or anime collection, we’d feel violated and angry. Yet, we often allow advertisements, bad anime, and other people to steal our time….