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Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History
Sometimes I com across a book that, while outside of my normal area of study, is so mind-blowing, I really just want people to know about it. Comics…
Books: History of Chinese Animation
By Jonathan Clements. Released as part of a Routledge series of translations of Chinese scholarship, Sun Lijun’s two-volume History of Chinese Animation is the largest work yet published…
Moving Heaven and Earth – A look back at Castle in the Sky
While Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may be the first original film project cited in Miyazaki’s canon, the honor of being the first true Studio Ghibi…
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 60) – Eye of Heaven, Gateway of Earth
Father has the five sacrifices where he wants them and is just biding time until the eclipse occurs. This might be their last chance to stop him… if…
Urusei Yatsura – 33 – Heaven Is a Date on Earth with You
With the possible futures mini-arc concluded, Urusei is back to self-contained segments, both of which have to do with the supernatural. First up, Mendou is out of school…
From Astro Boy to Pluto: The History of “The Greatest Robot on Earth”
Learn how “The Greatest Robot on Earth” chapter of Astro Boy would so greatly affect Naoki Urasawa that it led to Pluto nearly 40 years later.
Books: Chinese Animation and Socialism
By Jonathan Clements. Daisy Yan Du’s newly published collection Chinese Animation and Socialism: From Animators’ Perspectives focuses on the rise and fall of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio…
House of Earth and Blood
The first sentence on the blurb on the back cover of House of Earth and Blood is “Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life.” And t...
Small History and Big History
History has two different and related types: small and big. Big history is what you learn in school. It’s the major events of the past: the American Revolution,…
The Origins of Weeaboo
I’ve never had much first hand contact with the term “weeaboo”. I learned it from an anime loving friend who used it more like a term of endearment.…
The Origins of Bara
Like with all kinds of mediums, Bara has a history of its own. And it comes with its own prejudice. History for some reason won’t always tell the…
Gyarados: The Chinese Dragon?
On right: Flag of the Qing dynasty Gyarados is a Water/Flying type in the Pokemon video games, yet it is often thought of as a dragon-like Pokemon. This…
The FUNNIEST Chinese Anime...
The Daily Life of the Immortal king is achinese anime or donghua that's on crunchyroll and netflix. A goofier version of The Misfit of Demon King Academy combined…
Ragna Crimson, The Apothecary Diaries, Undead Unluck, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life: Episode 0, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life
Middle Earth: The Anime?
By Andrew Osmond. An anime cinema feature film of JRR Tolkien’s Middle-Earth has been announced, entitled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. At last,…
The Joan Birch Society
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Versus Earth
A manga where humanity is battling against deadly pillars who threaten to exterminate them appear from the ground. Teenager Haruto Teragane is dragged into this battle after becoming…
Books on Japanese Culture and Society
This past semester I taught a class on Japanese science fiction and fantasy, and I was surprised by how interested my students were in learning more about the…
Turn A Gundam Volume 4, Chapter 23 – “The Earth-Shattering Dark History” [Vol. 4 END]
Here it is! The final chapter of volume 4, which reveals to the reader the Dark History. It’s quite a different approach than the anime. This manga is…
The Origins of Mecha: Introduction
An introduction to an ongoing series of articles that trace the history of the Mecha genre, starting with its very earliest days.
The Story of Animerama: Origins
In the 1960s, one of the first studios to make anime for television was Mushi Productions. Towards the end of that decade, their desire to ...
The Origins of Visual Novels
Last year I wrote a blog post about the origins of visual novels and how I believe the term is often misused in the West to classify games…
THE TWO CYCLE ENGINE SAAB AND SAVING THE PLANET EARTH
As you read this, you may be asking yourself why I am so fascinated by these cars with three cylinders and a two-cycle engine. Because the earth itself…
Steins;Gate and Heaven part 2
I had my attention drawn back to a post I made about how Steins;Gate has some relations to how we should look at heaven and spreading the good news. Specifically with…
Reblog: Twwk Talks Frieren and Heaven
Last month, I connected with the amazing folks of Love Thy Nerd through a conference they organized with other partners called the Nerd Culture Ministry Summit. It was…
Hanjo at the Japan Society
This past weekend I volunteered at the Japan Society, where the Mishima Yukio play, Hanjo, was being performed as part of the Japan Society’s ongoing Noh Now Series.…
Nine: Adachi's Origins
Happy Summer Koshien! While Mitsuru Adachi stands right alongside other mangaka titans like Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama in Japan and many other countries, he's been mostly overlooked…
Vox Machina Origins
Vox Machina Origins is a spin-off comic series from Critical Role’s Vox Machina. The story is about how the members of Vox Machina meet and form the party.…
Ju-on: Origins
(This is one of the ones I watch so that you don’t have to, folks. Spoilers ahead.) Against all odds, I still hold out hope for Japanese horror—that…
Pretty Cure: Origins
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The Origins of Mecha: The 1990s Part 1: Landmarks and Evolutions
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Review: Third Shift Society & Lost and Found
Third Shift Society Author’s & Artist Name: Meredith Moriarty Year released: 2016 Genre: Action, Supernatural Latest chapters: 36 Status: Ongoing Ellie, a college dropout, is struggling to fin…
[Cyberpunk://0420] – Cyberpunk Society and Its Future
Cyberpunk —Echo of the past —A bottle to the sea —Drifting along our era's shores —Finding its way before our eyes —Voiceless against a world deafened by its…
Magikarp And The Dragons Gate: It’s Connection With Chinese And Japanese Mythology.
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Millennium Actress and History
By Jonathan Clements. The approach of the year 2000 was fraught with a sense of commemoration and closure. Various media tried to put a cap on Japan’s last…
The Avant-Garde Origins of 'Gumby'
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Baoh The Visitor: The Origins of Jojo
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The Chinese Cartoon That Beat the Censors
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Review: The Wandering Earth II (2023)
The Wandering Earth II 流浪地球2 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 173 mins. Director: Guo Fan 郭帆. Rating: 5/10. Over-long, untidily-scripted prequel to the sci-fi blockbuster starts well but then…
The Legend of Black Heaven and The Power of Midlife Crisis
Genre : Science Fiction, music, wish fulfillment, parody Episodes: 13 Studio: AIC, A.P.P.P. Oji, I mean Gabriel, is not having fun! One minute he was a lean…
Urusei Yatsura – 06 – Earth, Lightning, Fire and Ice
Ataru is a man of simple pleasures. When it’s sukiyaki night at the Moroboshi house, he’s super-pumped. Unfortunately he’s never able to partake in the feast, as Lum…
Sonic Origins (QUICK Review)
Sonic is back, but this time as a collection of older titles instead of something brand new. New Sonic games tend to have all sorts of issues, so…
Viewing Godzilla Minus One & The Boy and the Heron At The Japan Society
Godzilla Minus One King Kong. Fat Man and Little Boy. Godzilla was born from giant monster movies and the atomic bomb, in equal measure. After all, it’s
Toonami’s Origins: The Moltar Era | A Retrospective
Let’s take a look at the humble beginnings of one of the most well known blocks in all of USA anime, Toonami.
The Origins of Unico, Tezuka's Lonely Unicorn
A look at the origins of this little blue unicorn and its many incarnations in manga and anime
Review: Chinese Doctors (2021)
Chinese Doctors 中国医生 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 127 mins. Director: Liu Weiqiang 刘伟强 [Andrew Lau]. Rating: 6/10. Wuhan-set Covid drama has a propulsive, convincing first half but slacker,…
New Rock and Happy End – Origins of Japanese Rock
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Versus Earth – War Hammer
The sequel series to Versus Earth. Continue reading →
Captain Earth Series Review: Earth is Doomed and As Usual Only a Group of Teens (And Robots) Can Save Us
Captain Earth is one of those series that is kind of lame and yet also worth watching because there's fun to be had and some good ideas buried…
97: The Sickos Get Bootleg Chinese Gameboys
The Sickos finally address the burning topic that's been the talk of the gaming world for weeks: The Anbernic RG351V handheld retro emulation device. Yes, the Sickos purchased…
Unbranded Chinese Multi-tools Comparison and Comment About Leatherman and Gerber
I have an old Leatherman Wave, first generation, and it has been a pretty good workhorse over the decades. Earlier this year I was refresh...