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worlds where [YOU] are illegal.
Since 2021, 4066 book banning attempts have been made in the United States, most often from political pressure groups rather than discussion within local communities. Titles such as…
no one knows the real you.
When survival means fitting in, does anyone know the real you? The Persona was a concept coined by Carl Jung, the early 20th century psychologist who, despite helping to…
The Player's Paradox: A Hero You're Forced to Be
I’m a dumb YouTube video essay creator who really loves the Metal Gear Solid series because Kojima is a special kind of insane I relate to. Plus, MGS2…
the cyberpunk mind/body problem
We tend to think that a transcendence from flesh, leaving the body behind for the mind, would advance us to new heights; but is that really the case? Serial…
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Ghost in the Shell, Serial Experiments Lain
To find yourself, find a game you love.
Sonny Boy, one of the greatest anime of all time, explains many great topics for discussion: does death give life meaning? How do we go back to normal…
The Generational Pains
Vinland Saga is one of the greatest anime of all time, a 24 episode tale of vikings exploring what love means in a terrible world, the problem of…
The Need for Progress VS an Unchanging World
For an entire generation in the 2000s, Final Fantasy X (FFX) was an addictive introduction to JRPGs on the PlayStation 2 (PS2). With big monsters and big swords,…
Why is Being Human so Hard?
We often appeal to the sense that man is more than mere animal; but is this common thinking part of why we suffer so easily? Why is being…
Gainax Was Never About Growing Up
Why do we escape reality? Why do I fantasize so much? What does FLCL even mean? And why can’t the pelican be seen from the street?!? Gainax is, or…
FLCL, Gurren Lagann, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Neon Genesis Evangelion
All Hatred is Self Hatred
Hate is nothing more than the weak man’s tool to avoid his human duties, to avoid the pain required for greater things such as love and art. Hate…
The Duty to be Uncool
What do post WWII jazz music, Andy Warhol, Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, and Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism have in common? As this video essay will show, more than…
the pain of being seen
My whole life was lived in fear of the second death; when no one says your name ever again. Only now do I understand the pain of being…
don't let the past be your future
There’s learning from your mistakes, and then there’s being obsessed with the past. Cowboy Bebop is *the* classic 90s anime, following the misadventures of Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye…
Defined by a Label; Death by Gender
In 1864, with no women in sight for months, a civil war regiment decided to host a “stag dance,” a party where any of the men could go…
the cost of revolution is you
“The ends justify the means”- the results are worth the methods. This summary of Deontology and Consequentialism’s (Utilitarianism’s) war is incomplete; we have to dig into the assumptions…
The Point of Doing Pointless Things
Existence precedes essence. These words from French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre explain the meaning of life; nothing, but you get to choose exactly because of that. Today’s video essay…
the hero always becomes a villain
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This quote, which sounds like ancient wisdom, is only from 2008, but…
Living Life as the World Burns
In such uncertain and hopeless times, it’s natural to wonder what we could, or should do about it. We only get one life, so is it wrong to…
You Have to Return to Reality
Coming back to work after vacation only to feel even worse about daily life, feeling the good times and adventures go so fast and the mundane sticks so…
A Place Further Than the Universe, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Gloria, Sonny Boy
Stop Worrying, Start Loving
“Am I holding them back?” & “What if they find someone better?” These two relationship anxieties might lead to a lot of overthinking, and this video essay analysis…
there are no "great men"
Idolization is everywhere; from politics to sports, certain individuals are put on pedestals and glorified as prime examples of their motivations and actions. Is this an effective and…
Creativity is a Paradox
Why do humans make art? What is creativity? These are unexplained questions always worthy of analysis, but also always without answer. Humans, the only creatures to make art…
The Allure of the Apocalypse
The Earth is dying, society is collapsing, and you’ve never felt important a day in your life. This despair makes you think, do I want the world to…
Time Travel is Always Horror
Time travel is an often the stuff of movie heroes who fix the past and save the future in some yet to be explained machine. But, I don't…
living 1/3 of your life as someone else
Do I want them, or do I want to be with them? This confusion about attraction could be gender envy, shown in the anime Princess Jellyfish with Tsukimi…
Getting Along With Hopelessness
The last two girls alive traverse a rusted over wasteland, scavenging the desolation around them; and the whole time, they laugh and smile; how is this so? Girl’s Last…
You're in the Age of Doublethink
What is doublethink, the meaning and ideology of The Party and Big Brother in Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)? How can the concept be summarized and explained? Possibly…
What Inspires You to Create?
This video is from a Q&A about ProfessorViral anime video essays, which was offered to supporters, who asked great questions like "how has you identity shaped what you…
the fear of living life wrong
What could I learn from seeing the entire world on a journey? Would I become a better person from travel? Should I see the world? Kino’s Journey: The Beautiful…
The Assumptions that Isolate Us
What do ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, and an anime movie about a single mother raising wolf children have in common? A lot more than you’d think. Wolf Children is…
Embrace Life's Worst Moments
What do you do when you have to become something new? Psycho-Pass (2012) is probably the best anime from Gen Urobuchi, the writer of series like Fate/Zero and Madoka…
What's Lost in "Maturity"
As two grown men eat their feelings in boiled eggs, it might be the wacky child who tells us the most about what “growing up” or being mature…
A Story of How Your Summer Ends
This is the story of how your summer is ending. Summer time is often the time of living life, where students are free from school and adults are (somewhat)…
The Ones Forced to be Free
What does it mean to be “born in the wrong era?” At a mismatch with the world, not allowed the pleasures of average life, is this a kind…
A Loser's Guide to Connection
What can we learn from a socially anxious girl playing guitar to look cool? Quite a lot, actually… Bocchi the Rock was a hit anime from 2022, following the…
loneliness is empty like deep space
There’s one sure way to avoid being left by other people; leave them first. Cowboy Bebop is a classic and loved 90s sci-fi anime in the same class as…
Suffering Isn't Purpose
Painful and useless wings within a walled city; is the unfairness of life something we must come to terms with for salvation? Haibane Renmei, an anime from the same…
cocoon: Aru Natsu no Shoujo-tachi Yori, Haibane Renmei, Serial Experiments Lain
The Tragedy of Time & Place
You can do everything in your power to work with the time and place you’ve found yourself in, but still fail. How do we cope with this harsh…
The Line Between Man & Beast
Senselessly acting on fear, opening the door to destruction, the wolf in human skin refuses to think. What is the path of the beast? Jin Roh (/Rou) is a…
Finding Joy in Responsibility
Life is full of things that we have to do, mundane chores eating up our time. But could these things actually be some of the most valuable moments……
Is There Value in a "Human" Definition?
If someone asked you “what is a human,” could you answer? What does it mean to be human after all? Time of Eve (both the movie and the anime)…
The Loss Experienced in Change
What can living, breathing gemstones teach us about being human? Quite a lot actually. Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni) is a 2017 manga adaptation set in a…
AI Shouldn't Work For You
Having AI do your work or make money for you? You may be compromising your well being in ways you never thought about. 2023 began the age of AI,…
The Fear of Transformation
the fear of transformation | Tokyo Ghoul What do you do when you have to become something new? Tokyo Ghoul, at least when you don’t count Root A and :re,…
living in a story
Millennium Actress is a great anime movie to watch by Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paprika). Similar to Kon’s other films, Millennium Actress blurs the border between fiction and…
Moving Passed the Past
What does fooly cooly even mean!? FLCL (fooly cooly) is a 2000 anime from Gainax (Evangelion), who formed an eventual offshoot of Studio Trigger (Kill la Kill), which shows…
the fear of being genuine
Only you will remember the next 24 hours before time is undone; what do you admit to the people you love most? Steins;Gate is a popular anime following the…
Drowning in Faith
If the world around you was empty and dead, what would lead you to carry on anyway? Angel’s Egg (Tenshi no Tamago) is a 1985 anime film from Mamoru…
The Lies We Tell Ourselves
I need scissors! 61! Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, is the brainchild of Hideo Kojima, featuring a pair of the most loved and hated characters respectively, Solid…
The Mistakes that End Love
What would you do if you found a child thrown in the garbage on Christmas Eve? *note: this description is written using terms commonly associated with the film for…