Darling in the Franxx was hyped when it released in 2018. Animated by Trigger and Cloverworks, the anime had a simplistic style the supported moments of intense action. Most of the story focused on the characters as they struggled to survive, understand their purpose, and grow up. As a mecha, Darling in the Franxx leans…
Disappearing Anime and The Problem of Preservation
When Crunchyroll and Funimation merged, many anime didn’t make it back to their merged catalog. Among them was one of my favorites, Eureka Seven. This bummed me because I was thinking about revisiting it. Fortunately, I have the series on DVD, but not many people have that option. I will include the list of the…
The Boundary Between Lies and Truth | Oshi no Ko
Where do the lies end and the truth begins? This theme unifies the first season of Oshi no Ko. The story stares into the dark side of entertainment industry, deep into the abyss of pop idols, acting, and online personalities. Oshi no Ko‘s beautiful and bright artwork contrasts against the story’s dark story. This article…
Call of the Night: FLCL with Vampires. The Rituals Boys Need to Become Men
Call of the Night, like most anime, explores the emotional tangle of growing up, only with vampires. Ko is a high school drop out who struggles with school and fitting into society. He drops out of both, even to the point of avoiding the daylight hours. During his nocturnal roaming, he stumbles across the vampire…
Pachi-slot and Japan’s 20+Year Casino Fight
In 2019, pachinko made ￥21 trillion. That was 3.7% of Japan’s GDP for that year (Higuchi, 2020). Historically, pachinko, when combined with Japan’s lottery and legal sports betting, makes more money than Japan’s car industry (McMahon, 2014). Officially, pachinko isn’t considered gambling. Rather, Japan’s government sees it as an amusement or a skill-based game. Pachinko…
Bushido Explained by Alexander Bennett
Bushido Explained offers a good primer to how samurai thought across Japan’s different time periods. As the subtitle of the book states, it is a new interpretation for beginners. Bennett offers a broad, top view of samurai thought using diagrams and clear prose. While I wanted more details at times, Bennett sticks to offering a…