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The Endings of Japanese Folk Tales
If you read Japanese folklore, you notice how different the endings seem against Western stories. In most Japanese folktales, people die in the end. Happily-ever-after endings stand out…
Saekano through the lens of White Album 2
Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata feels like an anime dream come true. It’s a confluence of my favourite 2D creators – A-1 pictures, Oreshura director, Misaski Kurehito character designs and…
Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, White Album, White Album 2, Oreshura
Zenkyoto Student Riots Through the Lens of Michiko Sasaki
Tokyo Scum Brigade.
Species Spotlight on the Ancient Magus’ Bride: Fae Folk Introduction
Ah time for another species spotlight, this time on The Ancient Magus’ Bride, this series is filled with European folklore with a specific focus on British/Celtic variants. As…
Species Spotlight on the Ancient Magus’ Bride: Fae Folk, The Servants
So far I’ve talked about the biggest names in faedom, all have vast amounts of power and the fear and respect that goes with it, but what about…
Species Spotlight on the Ancient Magus’ Bride: Fae Folk, The Royalty
Moving on from Elias and Ashen Eye let’s take a look at the royalty of the fae, while not actually a thing in mythology as there is rarely…
Species Spotlight on The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Fae Folk, The Servants
So far I’ve talked about the biggest names in faedom, all have vast amounts of power and the fear and respect that goes with it, but what about…
Species Spotlight on the Ancient Magus’ Bride: Fae Folk, the Heavy Hitters!
As I said in my introduction I want to first start looking at the most critical fae to the series, we have many important characters and as I…
Species Spotlight on The Ancient Magus' Bride: Fae Folk, The Supporting Fae
Well now we've covered most of the critical characters in The Ancient Magus' Bride its times to move on to more of the side characters. These are powerful…
Species Spotlight on The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Fae Folk, The Supporting Fae
Well now we’ve covered most of the critical characters in The Ancient Magus’ Bride its times to move on to more of the side characters. These are powerful…
A Double Edged Sword: Reconsidering Moe Through a Neurodiverse Lens
Many criticisms of moe characteristics stem from the idea that these girl characters are created to be appealing to male viewers, and therefore cannot be relatable to any…
Airborne Onnagata: Viewing Macross Frontier’s protagonist through a genderqueer lens
After an initial viewing of Macross Frontier, most viewers would comment on a handful of topics. Not limited to, but including: the series’ back-to-basics approach reminiscent of the…
Girl Power and Guinea Pigs: Pui Pui Molcar through the lens of feminist media tests
Is a children's TV show about guinea pigs worth delving into for feminist analysis? AJ thinks so.
Transformative Adventures Through the Soulof Japan
Travel has changed. Nowadays, people no longer want to be mere passive sightseers but active participants inforeign cultures who contribute positively to the development of local communities. Adventure…
Episode 36: Zainichi Literature—Koreans Writing in Japan
Listen to Episode 36 of the Read Literature podcast. Transcript available. In this episode, we take a look at the history of Koreans writing in Japan. We’ll start…
Reconstructed Majesty: A Tour of Ancient Japan in Nara
Explore Japan’s earliest history in these impressive archaeological sites around Nara Prefecture.
Tune of the Week(ish): The Journey of Elaina’s Literature
The Journey of Elaina won’t win Anime of the Year, but it absolutely the most fascinating for the shows I’ve watched in 2020. An interesting story of the…
Episode 6: High and Low Literature in Edo Japan
Saikaku’s illustration of Yonosuke sailing for the Island of Women. Check out Episode 6 of the Read Japanese Literature podcast. This episode is marked mature. How does “this…
“Literature” — Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina OP
Romaji | English Translation VERSEirodorarete ikeba gensou gakatachi aru mono ni naru you niegaite yukeru kanaete yukeru n dayasashiku fuita kaze gafurui PEIJI mekuru you nifurikaeru kedo uun…
Skill-Building In Japan Through Extracurriculars
A quick guide to choosing your young child’s after-school activities in Japan.
2026 via 2020: The Real Folk Blues
There’ll be more looking back and looking ahead coming soon, but for now: Happy New Year, people. I was reminded of this collaboration via Femi and the Foundation…
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise is referenced throughout early Japanese literature. If you hadn’t read it, you won’t catch some of the meaning Sei Shonagon, Lady Nijo, Murasaki Shikibu, and…
Tales Of Eternia
Didn’t think I would be so quick to watch another Tales series after my very recent stint with Tales Of Phantasia. This time, Tales Of Eternia. Yeah, am…
Tales Of Phantasia
How long has it been since I watched a Tales series? Oh, not that I cared anyway. So when I stumbled upon this old retro Tales Of Phantasia,…
AMERICAN AND BRITISH SCI-FI THROUGH THE EYES AND EARS OF JAPAN.
One thing I've always dug over the years, was the Japanese versions of records (sonosheet) and models of American and British sci-fi. The co...
Audiobooks of Japanese Literature in Translation
Kobo Abe The Woman in the DunesTranslated by E. Dale SaundersNarrated by Julian Cihi Hiro Arikawa The Traveling Cat ChroniclesTranslated by Philip GabrielNarrated by George Bladden Osamu Dazai…
Tales of Possibilities – Musings on the Current Direction of the Tales Franchise Part 1
Let’s get something straight before I get into this post. I goddamn love the Tales games. Symphonia was the first one I played, and I still hold great…
The 2022 Translated Literature Challenge
Use the 2022 Translated Literature Challenge as an excuse to read translated literature with me with these prompts for the year!
Kabuki: ancient anime of the stage!
Do you know where your favorite anime character’s epic action pose comes from? If you love shonen anime, you’ve probably seen more Kabuki than you think!
Lost Tales: Rise of the Banchos
Introduction In the Digital World, there are many stories that are shrouded in mystery, with facts still needing to be discovered. Even though not everything has been discovered…
JRPG Review: Tales of the Abyss
And so after like 14 years of not watching the anime and being that I’m playing a bunch of Tales games now, I finally decided to jump into…
Tales of Vesperia: The Ambitious Edge
Boy it has been a long time since I’ve talked about a video game that wasn’t No More Heroes or Suda related for a whole blog post. The…
The Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library)
I’m in Japan! And have my hands full with crazy amounts of studying. But I had a minute last Sunday to check out the new Haruki Murakami Library…
Pan Jinlian: The Notorious Femme Fatale of Chinese Literature
While binge-watching Hong Kong movies during the coronavirus lockdown, I reached onto my shelf of Cathay releases and pulled out the two-part movie, THE STORY OF THREE LOVES…
Tales from the Tokaido Road: About the Tokaido Challenge | Japan Station 171/Ichimon Japan 78
On this episode of Japan Station we ask: What was it like walking the Tokaido Road? NOTE: This is a re-broadcast of episode 78 of the Ichimon Japan podcast. Topics Discussed…
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
Japanese Atomic Literature
Kenzaburo Oe edited one of the most important anthologies of atomic bomb literature, The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath. In his 1985 introduction, Oe…
Chapter 25 - Into the Lens (6/20/2022)
Too many chapters to discuss this week, but somehow we managed.This week's show and tell is Kyoto Jogakuin Monogatari: Finder by Akimoto Osamu of Kochikame fame.Text-only versions of…
Tales of Wedding Rings: The Lord of the Rizz
Been a bit late on this one, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have stuff to say. Last season had a good selection of harem and ecchi anime…
Tales of Arise DLC?!?
What?! Bandai-Namco just announced news that Tales of Arise is getting a random expansion DLC that takes place a year after the games ending, complete with 20+ hours…
Tales of ChoHakkai Released!
Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally able to once again perform a full game release on Christmas. This time, it’s…
Transcript of Episode 27: Japanese Children’s Literature
Find out more about Episode 27 of the Read Literature podcast on the episode page. Link to listen Notes and sources Ways to support the podcast This is…
Transcript of Episode 37: Atomic Bomb Literature
Find out more about Episode 37of the Read Literature podcast on the episode page. Link to listen Notes and sources Ways to support the podcast This is Read…
Hiking through the Wonders of Kamikochi
Besides Yakushima, nothing else compares to the pure colors of this scenery! Kamikochi, located in the mountains of Nagano with a clear river and perfect view of the…
182: The Sickos Become Literature Geniuses
Turns out books are not homework, but instead stuff a weirdo wrote down for fun. We go nuts about Moby Dick, Don Quixote, and the works of Don…
The Kojiki and Japan’s Earliest Literature
Kobayashi Eitaku, Izanagi and Izanami, c. 1885Via Wikimedia Check out the Read Japanese Literature podcast. Episode 1: The Kojiki—Gods having sex, founding of the imperial dynasty, and some of…
“Literature” — Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina OP — English Translation
Romaji | English Translation VERSEThe more you add color to your dreamThe more it begins to take shapeYou can picture it; you can make it come true Like…
Lost Tales: The Mystery of Prototype Digimon
Introduction In the Digital World, there are many stories that are shrouded in mystery, with facts still needing to be discovered. Even though not everything has been discovered…