The premise of “The Power of Three” series of posts is that we’re going to be looking at some kind of three-way relationship to see how it works. You know, going beyond kicking the tires and poppin…
Confessions of an Overage otaku
May 23, 2022 • Subscribe
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The Power of Three: Penguindrum
Penguindrum is one of those thing, like Wonder Egg Priority, that people have been recommending to me, like, forever. Really. Seriously. For ever. A Certain Retailer had two…
The Power of Three: Tokyo Godfathers
The late Satoshi Kon was famous for playing sleight-of-hand with his characters. They were always existing at two or three different levels of reality or slipping around in…


The Power of Three: Steins;Gate
I was thinking about Steins;Gate for a different reason when I hit on why it works narratively. Because it shouldn’t, you know. Steins;Gate is really kind of a…


The Power of Three: Princess Jellyfish
I briefly ran out of reading material … no, that’s not quite right. You all know it’s been a rugged time for a lot of us and I…


The Power of Three: Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is one of those things that’s so unique in construction that it’s hard to see the pieces it’s built out of. That’s one of the reasons…
The Power of Three: Millennium Actress
Satoshi Kon was the original flim-flam man. Well, probably not. The original flim-flam man probably dates back to about five minutes after the invention of portable currency. If…
The Power of Three: Flowers of Evil
While I was waiting for the Flowers of Evil manga to go on sale I picked up the anime to tide me over, and BOY, was I glad…


The Power of Three: Samurai Champloo (revisited)
Some time ago I looked at Fuu, Jin, and Mugen and concluded that they were a sort of half-assed Eternal Triangle, where the two guys vie for the…


The Power of Three: Amagi Brilliant Park
For REASONS (that I no longer remember), I keep thinking about Eternal Triangles, and it occurs to me that I’ve mentioned the degenerate form of the Eternal Triangle…


The Power of Three Squared: Fruits Basket
Okay, I’ll be honest: Fruits Basket is not exactly in my wheelhouse in terms of what I want to see, right? I mean you take the rom-com thing…


The Power of Three: A Silent Voice
One of the nice things about A Silent Voice is that it’s about kids growing up, and it treats the kids honestly as characters in that it lets…


The Power of Three: Komi Can’t Communicate
Komi Can’t Communicate is one of those stories that chaps my ass when you get right down to it. You see Communication is my racket. I is a…


The Power of Three: Welcome Back, Alice
I’ve made my appreciation for the work of Shuzo Oshimi very plain at times. Oshimi is the magaka behind The Flowers of Evil, Inside Mari, and Blood on…
The Power of Three: Carole and Tuesday
Elsewhere I’ve written about the way Shinichiro Watanabe treats female characters, which is to say for the most part much more fairly than most anime writers and directors.…
The Power of Three Minus One: Promare
The movie Promare came around a while ago and I missed it. I read the previews and said, “Meh. Mechas,” which is about what I say about any…


The Power of Three: Ghost in the Shell
Okay, we all know who the most interesting character in Ghost in the Shell is, and it’s the Major, Motoko Kusanagi. She has the choice between her human…


The Power of Three: Darling in the Franxx
Everyone loves a good mecha story. Well, at least the manga/anime target audience – slightly-nerdy teen-aged Japanese boys – loves a good mecha story. Consequently, there are lots…


The Power of Three Minus One: Maison Ikkoku
Metastable relationships – where the main characters are in love but can’t or won’t admit it – have been on my mind lately, possibly because for National Novel…


The Power of Three Minus One: The Dirty Pair
Scott over at Mechanical Anime Reviews has been going through The Dirty Pair recently, and I think he had the same goofy fun I had with it. So…


The Power of Three Minus One: Spy X Family
One of the things that gets me about Spy X Family is how layered it is. It operates at so many layers of reality in its fictional world…
Sankarea
We try to carry on as much of a conversation as you can about a weird zombie waifu story. 2:39 - Sankarea 16:52 - My Hero Academia 370 29:20 - Undead…
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece


The Power of Three Plus Two: O Maidens in Your Savage Season
When you’re dealing with characters in writing, I mean seriously, do I have to say this? The more you have, the harder it is to keep them straight.…


The Power of Forgiveness
Turn the Page and Start a New Symphony


The Power of Trust
The Promised Neverland is an anime that discusses the idea of trust through its main characters, Emma, Norman, Ray, and Isabella. Here’s a whole video essay analyzing The…


Sankarea: Undying Love (Discussion 7) – Tease of the Dead!
Rea’s father has finally given up on trying to control her life… er… undead life! This means that it’s now up to Chihiro to look after her and…


The Power of Two: Nana
Man, I like Nana. It’s grown-up, right? Well, at least they try. The gimmick is that both main characters are named Nana, Nana Oosaki and Nana Kumatsu. They…


Zenshu: The Power of Art
#zenshu #mappa #ontherise #bandmaid #ZenshuAnime #animefantasy With its unique concept of altering the storyline and its beautifully crafted visuals by MAPPA, Zenshu stands out in the world…


The Objective Power Of Animation
Animation is a powerful medium, but one that is often overlooked largely by hollywood and the broader world. Well, I think theres a good chance that may not…
The Fanservice Debate: Sankarea Episode 8
Can fanservice ever be justified in anime or is it a disturbing and unnecessary aspect of the genre? In this occasional series we look at the rights and…


The Three Legends of Lake Biwa
These three stories combine to create a single legend. I kept the original 1918 spellings and grammar. I find them charming and interesting examples of how language can…
The Three Legends of Lake Biwa
These three stories combine to create a single legend. I kept the original 1918 spellings and grammar. I find them charming and interesting examples of how language can…
OtakuGeneration (Show #522) Sankarea
Shownotes :: (show 522) :: (website) :: (podcast feed) :: (direct download) :: (direct iTunes link) With Sankarea, recorded live June 7th, 2015. This we a show called…
Knights of Sidonia, My Little Monster, Spirited Away, xxxHOLiC, Hayate the Combat Butler


'Chihayafuru' and the Power of Connection
Connection is the driving force behind everything in the narrative of Chihayafuru. With each connection stemming Chihaya's love of karuta and the poems in the game. 0:00 Intro 2:33 Disclaimers 3:45…
Kiyohimé or the Power of Love
Kiyohimé was written down around 1887 and contains dated language and spellings. This period brought many stories from Japan to the West. I left the language unchanged; I find…


The Definition of a Power Fantasy
There are a lot of power fantasy who claim to have a strong protagonist, but 95% of them don't even come close to the power that Anos possesses.…
Episode 202, "The Power Of Love"
On this episode of The One Piece Podcast we have the crew on to discuss some classic manga, some current anime, some late-breaking video game trailers, and a…


Behold, the Power of Anime Baseball!
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You S2 Ep 6 Review Next to its birthplace in the land of the Stars and Stripes, the…


The Power Of Trying Again Later
Reminder: This was my first game* in 14 years... And I was playing on hard. Edited/Written by: @TeeHallumsYT SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW…


The Power of Soundtracks in Anime
Here’s something I haven’t written about, but I would like to. I’ve brought up soundtracks a few times in my reviews, but really, it’s not that often. For…
Episode 202, "The Power Of Love"
On this episode of The One Piece Podcast we have the crew on to discuss some classic manga, some current anime, some late-breaking video game trailers, and a…


Metaphor: ReFantazio - The Power of Fiction
"Time marches on, and the age of a new king draws nearer..." As some of you may know, I'm a huge fan of Atlus' Persona series. When I got…


The Power of Two: Princess Jellyfish
I never know how much to summarize about a series when I start these essays. I mean, stuff like Cowboy Bebop I know everyone’s seen; on the other…


the power of a stupid game
A silly game can be the thing that makes your life Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon are two of the most nostalgic properties of the 90s and 2000s, surely topping any…


Macross 7 – The Power of Rock
I write this post with lots of happiness and yet, lots of sadness. Both for the same reason. By watching Macross 7, I have officially watched all the…
The Power of Two: Golden Kamuy
I’m reading the manga for Golden Kamuy when I get around to picking up a new issue every so often, up through volume four by now, and I’m…


The Power of Tears in Anime
How does anime use tears and the visuals of crying characters and why do I like it so much!


Kiyohimé or the Power of Love
Kiyohimé was written down around 1887 and contains dated language and spellings. This period brought many stories from Japan to the West. I left the language unchanged; I find…


The Power of Hope over Despair
Zenshu Episode 11 Review The moment that everyone dreaded to see has finally arrived: A Tale of Perishing has seemingly gotten back on track for its horrendously sad…


The Surprising Power Of The Word Aishiteru
If you were to ask Google Translate how to say “I love you.” in Japanese, it will give you the word Aishiteru or at least a form of…


Sankarea: Undying Love (Ranko Saouji) – The Curse of the Girl Next Door!
Unlike most romances, Ranko Saouji fell for Chihiro the moment she met him. Little did she know that she was doomed to watch as another staggered into his…