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How to Understand Research Papers
Research papers follow a regular structure that helps you find what matters for your project. Most papers have the following sections: Abstract – the summary of the study…
“My Japan,” A World War II Anti-Japanese Propaganda Film
My Japan takes an interesting tact with how it tried to spur Americans to buy war bonds. The film claims to be a captured Japanese propaganda film aimed at…
I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too
The title of the story says it all. Isekai stories have long focused on power fantasies, of one-upping everyone who had ever slighted you. The story encourages catharsis…
Yes, Public Libraries Censor Manga…Sometimes
I live in a rather conservative region–the type of region that professes to follow Christian values while many people have a brood of kids, all with different last…
Yes, Public Libraries Censor Manga…Sometimes
I live in a rather conservative region–the type of region that professes to follow Christian values while many people have a brood of kids, all with different last…
Why Do Anime Characters Always Get Colds [and Collapse from Them]?
You know the scene. It starts with a sneeze or a chill, usually after being caught in the rain. Next, the character collapses into unconsciousness. Sometimes this happens…
Kokuhaku, How to Confess Your Love the Japanese Way
Kokuhaku, or love confession, isn’t easy to research. People take contemporary cultural practices for granted; such practices aren’t studied until they fall out of practice. If you do…
Be Curious Beyond Anime
You need hobbies beyond anime. It sounds obvious. However, I’ve encountered many people who are consumed by their interest whether it is anime or, more common to my…
Praise For A Quiet, Average Life
In anime, you sometimes see a protagonist who wants nothing more than a quiet, average life only to be plunged into some sort of drama or misadventure. Usually,…
![Featured image for [Expanded] Manga Sound Words Guide](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230723/1690120722.65358.100309.jpg)
[Expanded] Manga Sound Words Guide
Manga has a vast amount of onomatopoeia. They go beyond simple sound effects, representing emotions like anger and actions like staring. Manga artists fold sound words into their…
Remember Death All Year Long
The man who would be a warrior considers it is the most basic intention to keep death always in mind, day and night, from the time he first…
How Can I Invest in Anime and Manga?
So, you want to learn how to invest your money in anime and manga and other Japanese companies? Why would you want to? If you live in the…
How Can I Invest in Anime and Manga?
So, you want to learn how to invest your money in anime and manga and other Japanese companies? Why would you want to? If you live in the…
Search Engine Changes and You
Microsoft and Google work to fold their Large Language Models, better known as ChatGPT (Bing version) and Bard respectively, into their search engines. What does this mean? For…
Tomo-chan is a Girl! Offers Interesting Relationship Dynamics
Tomo-chan is a Girl! offers interesting character dynamics and avoids many of the pitfalls of using the “dense” character tropes. In this story, the characters’ inability to see…
Otaku USA, the physical anime and manga magazine
Physical magazines have increasingly been going extinct. As far as I know, Otaku USA is the last-standing physical magazine that covers anime and manga in the US. At…
The Learned Helplessness of Male Protagonists in Anime and Manga
How many anime have you watched or manga you’ve read where the female characters dote on the male protagonist? You often see women argue over who is going…
The Learned Helplessness of Male Protagonists in Anime and Manga
How many anime have you watched or manga you’ve read where the female characters dote on the male protagonist? You often see women argue over who is going…
Can You be too Old for Anime?
Some time ago, I went to the theater to watch Dragon Ball Super: Superheroes, which is an entertaining film. I was the oldest in the showing. Can you…
Okakura Kakuro’s “The Book of Tea”
Okakura wrote The Book of Tea in 1906. The books seeks to bridge and explain the Eastern perspective to the West. At the time, most people weren’t familiar…
The Spectrum of Relationship Difficulties and Hurt Among Men
When a boy is raised without the tools to identify and communicate his feelings, he initially might still be able to express different kinds of emotions. Yet over…
Your Life is What You Give Your Attention to
Pay attention, even to trifles. –Miyamoto Musashi You remember what you give your attention to. After all, you can’t remember what you didn’t observe or experience! This seems…
Lafcadio Hearn’s Japan
Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) offered a view into Japan during the Meiji Restoration with his books: Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, Out of the East, Kokoro, The Boy Who Drew…
The Subtext of Oshi no Ko’s First Episode
This article will spoil the first episode of Oshi no Ko. At first glance, Oshi no Ko appears to be another Japanese pop idol anime, but the story…
Why Should You Read Books?
Book reading is on the decline, at least in the US. According to Gallup (Jones, 2022), Americans read 3 fewer books in a year. The total percent of…
Japanese Women Proverbs Dating before World War II
World War II marks a dramatic shift in Japanese history, equal in impact to the Meiji Restoration on the culture. The proverbs I will discuss trace deep into…
The Life and Works of Ryōnen Gensō
Japan has a long history of literary and artistic women. If you look at the education of women, Japan’s history would resemble a sine curve. Some periods have…
What the Historical Silence of Japanese Women Says
By the title you may be expecting me to write about the patriarchy in history. You’re right to a degree. After all, the patriarchy has hurt women, but…
The Difficulty of Animation and Being Mindful of the Industry
Have you thought about how the anime you watch works? Animation results from the stickiness of our minds and vision. We take this stickiness for granted, but without…
The Not-So-Future Problems of Cloud Content
Despite Google pulling the plug on Stadia, cloud gaming or gaming as a service continues to be the direction the gaming, movies, and anime (and manga for that…
Sitting Down to Tea with Sakuraco
Tea has a long history of being a part of high-culture in England and in Japan. Sakuraco offers tea-for-two subscription boxes that combine elements of Western tea tradition…
So You Want to Collect Ukiyo-e?
Ukiyo-e translates to “images of the floating world.” The Floating World refers to the pleasure districts of the Edo period. This was the world of actors, prostitutes, geisha,…
Anime, the Love of Learning, and the Love of Spectacle
In Confessions, Saint Augustine contrasts the love of learning with the love of spectacle. His friend Alypius disliked the gladiatorial games of Rome. One day Alypius’s friends convinced…
What is Moxa?
If you read any Japanese literature or history, you see moxa and moxa treatments mentioned. Basho in his travel writings discusses getting a moxa treatment before he travels.…
What Seppuku Represents
Anyone who knows anything about Japan has heard of seppuku or seen it in a samurai film. Seppuku was a ritualized form of suicide and a judicial sentence…
The Importance of Owning a Blog
If you write or consider writing a novel, you’ve likely ran against the idea of the platform. This creature acts as the steed that carries the author to…
Anime Blogging 101: Writing an Informative Essay
I love writing informative essays. I never know what goodies I will find when I set out to research for an informative essay. Informative essays involve all the…
Anime Blogging 101: Citations, Attributions, and Libel
Citations aren’t bad. I promise. Formal and semi-formal citations are important for anime blogging. Luckily, you don’t have to have every comma and period perfect for blog citations.…
Anime Blogging 101: Using Adverbs and Respecting Readers
Adverbs add detail to verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Many grammar wonks tell us to cut adverbs unless they are necessary. I mostly agree (see what I did…
Anime Blogging 101: Word Selection
Writing focuses on word selection. English overflows with words. Choosing the perfect word is fun, and it is hard. Some words are tired like awesome, cool, and fuck.…
Anime Blogging 101: Your Voice and Commas
Voice is your unique way of speaking. You use words in ways that make a verbal fingerprint. Verbal ticks like like, um, because, so are as important as…
ChatGPT and Blogging’s Future
This article begins a week of articles that examine blogging tips and other writing information. ChatGPT and other language processing models will shift how we interact with the…
More Than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers
More Than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers begins with a reality-TV premise. Shiori, Jiro, and Akari’s high school has implemented a couples-training practicum, which aims to have…
The Declining Population of Japan
By 2060, Japan will have a population of 86.7 million, from today’s population of 125 million (Yamaguchi, 2022). The population will also grow older. This trend has been…
Do It Yourself!
Do It Yourself! is another cute-girls-doing-cute-things anime. In this one, the girls join a Do It Yourself Club. The main character, Serufu Yua is a complete klutz and…
Bocchi the Rock!
Bocchi the Rock! teems with experimental animation that captures the social anxiety and catastrophizing the anime’s namesake character experiences. It’s a fun ride. Bocchi the Rock! follows the…
Raven of the Inner Palace
Raven of the Inner Palace wowed me on many levels when I gave it a watch. While the animation is stiff, especially compared to the experimental animation of…
Japanese Poems about Winter
I love winter. The cold may be uncomfortable, but it is the night of the year. It calls us to stop and rest and reflect. Although, as the…
Looking Back on 2022
This past year was JP’s 10th. Before I started writing this blog, I struggled to see anything through. I would flit from project to project, from interest to…
The Fox’s Loneliness
This Christmas I will leave you with this short story I wrote. Merry Christmas! I shouldn’t have shown myself, Kitsune thought. Below her perch in the tree, two…