Category: Essays, Criticism, and Analyses

You Pigs in Human Clothing: A Theology of Clothing in Kill la Kill

Part 3 of my Kill la Kill series. Today’s theme: Religion coopted into an oppressive force, blood covenants, crucifixions, and atonements. Now is the part where I get all Christiany. I’ve briefly mentioned before that Kill la Kill presents a dichotomy in which clothing is power while and nudity is shame. This divide is the foundation… Continue reading You Pigs in Human Clothing: A Theology of Clothing in Kill la Kill

Girlhood and Magical Uniforms: Coming of Age in Kill la Kill

Part 2 of my Kill la Kill series. Today’s theme: feminism, magical girls, and growing up.   The mahou shoujo genre of anime is among the more popular genres as it contains many classic series, old and new (Sailor Moon, Precure, Princess Tutu, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica to name… Continue reading Girlhood and Magical Uniforms: Coming of Age in Kill la Kill

Queer la Queer: From Illogical Dedication to Misappropriation

Kill la Kill is one of those rare series that has delivered just about everything I could possibly want in a story and then some. It has impressed me so much that I actively analyzed and took notes on it as I watched/re-watched, which honestly hasn’t happened for me before. Over the next few weeks,… Continue reading Queer la Queer: From Illogical Dedication to Misappropriation

Forrest Gump, Cameron’s Avatar, and the White God Complex

The other day, I went to the city with a friend and ended up at a Bubba Gump’s Shrimp. My friend is from out of the country, so she didn’t get all the references and photographs hanging around the area. I explained the story of Forrest Gump as best as I could and when I told her… Continue reading Forrest Gump, Cameron’s Avatar, and the White God Complex

Korrasami is Canon

I tried thinking of a wittier title, but I just couldn’t. After two years of fervently shipping Korrasami (I’ve been on board since Book 1), I finally got the confirmation I needed, but never realistically expected. Both Mike and Bryan have posted their official statements on their Tumblrs that Korrasami is, well, official. I won’t rehash… Continue reading Korrasami is Canon

Legend of Korra Series Finale: It’s Not Just All Physical

At long last, the Avatar franchise has come to an end, at least in terms of the TV series. The Legend of Korra aired its final episode at midnight on Friday and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Especially since Korrasami became cannon. In my previous LoK post about Korrasami, I analyzed… Continue reading Legend of Korra Series Finale: It’s Not Just All Physical

Faith, Reason, and Selective Justice

I have to temporarily emerge from NaNoWriMo to discuss something a little unsettling that I just learned. One of my favorite professors in college recently married their long-time partner and left my alma mater basically around the same time. In most circumstances, that wouldn’t raise a red flag, but I graduated from a Christian university… Continue reading Faith, Reason, and Selective Justice

Unlearning Passive Gender

It’s no secret that our society needlessly assigns gender to certain activities and products to the point where performing an action outside of what’s expected of your own gender somehow lessens the legitimacy of you existing as said gender. I’ve seen countless examples of men feeling emasculated because they read books with “girly” covers. In… Continue reading Unlearning Passive Gender

Korra Alone: Denial from God and the Guilt of Spiritual Disconnect

Legend of Korra’s final season will perhaps give us the most compelling conflict yet, one that has been hinted at throughout the whole series but never fully explored: Korra’s struggle against herself and her Avatar duty of being connected to the spirits. Three years after the events of Book 3, Korra’s body had recovered, but… Continue reading Korra Alone: Denial from God and the Guilt of Spiritual Disconnect