A cultural analysis of Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. exploring how "XXX." and "FEAR." form a theological mirror — tracing Wickedness and Weakness through Deuteronomy, the prosperity gospel, Catholic redemptive suffering, and the Black sacred tradition to ask whether the curse that defines Black American life is answered with the fist or the open palm.
Anime is a translation. Not metaphorically—functionally. Studios, committees, broadcast schedules, and adaptation choices all stand between you and the story a mangaka originally created. That’s not a criticism of anime. It’s a reminder that the original text still exists—and reading it changes how you see everything that came after.
I kept seeing the same online fights repeat and realized I needed a map. So I made one: a free, dense-on-purpose PDF about platforms, fandom, and the culture war.
If you’ve ever felt uneasy about One Piece’s turn toward “destiny,” this is me trying to put that unease into words, as someone who’s lived with this series in weekly format for 17 years.
Doujinshi are magical. There's a breadth of things that can happen in the span of however many pages in a book, and the nature of being self-published means that an author can just let their mind soar. Isaki Uta's Leaper is a one-shot story that premiered ten years ago in Monthly Afternoon Magazine, jump-starting their career as a professional mangaka after winning an honorable mention. Previously, I was fortunate enough to cover Uta-sensei's Mine-kun is Asexual, and Mermaid in the Bottle--both being much more recent works that display their refined sense of storyboarding and art. Going back to any artist's roots means being able to notice details and purposeful actions or habits that turn into quirks and hallmarks of their style. I'm happy to report that plenty of things I really appreciated from Uta-sensei's other work is also present in their first published work!
Today, I'm very proud to bring to you my thoughts and impressions on not just one, but two doujinshi created by Isaki Uta, thanks to Irodori Comics!
Based on the works of: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Storyboards by: Ryosuke Takeuchi Art by: Hikaru Miyoshi Translation: (´･∀･`)ｻｱ？ Touch-Up Art and Lettering: Annaliese "Ace" Christman Design: Joy Zhang Editor: Marlene First Among the many things I read, there are some genres I dip my toes less and less into, over time. One of them … Continue reading Moriarty the Patriot, Vol. 1 | REVIEW
Author: Hajime Kanzaka Illustrator: Rui Araizumi Translator: Elizabeth Ellis Editor: Megan DentonA cursory Google search can tell you that it's been roughly 50 years since the advent of tabletop role-playing games. Originally an offshoot of war-games and strategy games like chess, they gradually evolved to become storytelling devices, with character writing, elaborate settings, and individualism at the … Continue reading Slayers Vol. 1 | REVIEW
As of yesterday, July 19th--Monday the 20th in Japan--Haikyu's final chapter was finally published. I love Haikyu so much so, that it was really hard to put into words what this series meant to me up until this point.
It's been a bit over half a year since the announcement of J-Novel Club's new imprint, J-Novel Heart, back at AnimeNYC 2019. I've bought and read most of the titles that have since been released under that label, and figured it's time to collect my thoughts in a blog post rather than just scattered tweets … Continue reading My thoughts on J-Novel Heart’s current series lineup | REVIEW
