Category: Essays, Criticism, and Analyses

Lessons from Women of the Silk: Weaving in Strong Messages

Gail Tsukiyama’s Women of the Silk is, for me, one of those random treasures I picked up during a used book sale in college. Half the fun of these kinds of books is that sometimes they’re terrible, but sometimes they have everything you could possibly ask for in a story and you weren’t even intentionally… Continue reading Lessons from Women of the Silk: Weaving in Strong Messages

Is Yuri Anime Decent Representation?

Anime is one of the few mediums where you can really say that there’s something for everyone. Or at least, that’s the idea. Recent anime has scarcely provided anything interesting, but at least this season has something slightly different: Sakura Trick. Representation of anyone other than straight people is rare in media, and anime is… Continue reading Is Yuri Anime Decent Representation?

Writing God in Genre Fiction

If I had a fancy suit for every time I’ve heard about the struggle of writing God in fantasy and science fiction stories, I would have a walk-in closet full of fancy suits. I’ve read many a blog post and forum thread hashing out this subject because some young writer is desperate to figure it… Continue reading Writing God in Genre Fiction

Why Not Both? Femininity and Masculinity in Tenou Haruka

Only 90s kids remember this cute commercial from a couple years ago because only 90s kids remember anything. 90s kids especially remember Sailor Moon and all of the awkward things DiC did to hide the gays, but no amount of “cousinly affection” can hide the fact that Tenou Haruka, AKA Sailor Uranus embraces both masculinity… Continue reading Why Not Both? Femininity and Masculinity in Tenou Haruka

Lessons from Her: Sidestepping the Creepy Clichés

Oscar season is upon us and that means that deserving favorites won’t likely win in their categories. It also means that there’s a set list of movies from the past year that are definitely worth watching. I’ve never been bored with a Best Picture nom. As the awards ceremony approaches, I’m ticking off the nominated… Continue reading Lessons from Her: Sidestepping the Creepy Clichés

The Creation of Lemongrab: An Unacceptable Icon

In an age where the Internet breaks down the barriers between creators and fans, fandoms can gain traction in a matter of weeks. Once upon a time, fanartists and fanfic writers were seen as fans with way too much time on their hands, but now you can find impressive fan works of every kind for… Continue reading The Creation of Lemongrab: An Unacceptable Icon

Attack on Music: Is Shingeki no Kyojin’s First Opening Iconic?

Once upon a time, I tried to tackle a multi-post blog series analyzing the music of anime openings. That fizzled out for a number of reasons, the biggest one being that I lost sight of what I was originally arguing. However, my argument from the first post is pretty easy to conceptualize. There, I noted… Continue reading Attack on Music: Is Shingeki no Kyojin’s First Opening Iconic?

Lessons From Legend of Korra: The Fading Importance of Gran Gran Katara

Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra wavers between exciting and disappointing. The rocky first season left much to be desired both from a storytelling and pacing standpoint. Although season 2 is more put together, it’s clear that this show doesn’t have the excellent writing that its predecessor had. At least, not all the time and certainly… Continue reading Lessons From Legend of Korra: The Fading Importance of Gran Gran Katara

Lessons From Orphan Black: The Fridging of Amelia

Orphan Black is one of the best shows that premiered on TV last year, and as it features several women as main characters whose life goals are not primarily finding husbands and having babies, it’s a wonderful relief from most of the crap clogging up the airwaves. The premise is simple: a young woman named… Continue reading Lessons From Orphan Black: The Fridging of Amelia