12 Days of Anime #3: Heroics in Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance

There are many wonderful moments to enjoy in Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance (Arslan Senki: Fuujin Ranbu), but the opening fight between Gieve and Hilmes stole the premiere episode for me and affirmed my opinion that Gieve, is indeed, the most overpowered guy on Team Arslan. When we’re talking about combat skill, Daryun might be […]

Mothers and Sons in Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames

“Men are what their mothers made them.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames reminds us that behind every hero, Mom’s involved. It goes without saying that heroes generally want to be like their fathers–strong, brave and heroic–but it’s often really their mothers who play a huge role in shaping their people they […]

Comically Uncanny: Deconstructing the Hero in The Devil Is a Part-Timer!

On the third day of anime, an animation studio gave to me… …three impoverished demons. But before we expound on the delight that is The Devil is a Part-Timer! (Hataraku Maou-sama!), here’s an excerpt from the introduction of Iain Thomson’s article”Deconstructing the Hero,” a lovely, short piece that analyzes hero deconstruction in the comic, Watchmen, in […]

How to Genetically Engineer Superhuman Child Soldiers: Family Dysfunctionality in Majestic Prince

On the second day of anime, an anime studio gave to me… Two genetically-engineered brothers… Galactic Armored Fleet Majestic Prince (Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince), in one word, was a weird anime. Watching it was a weird experience. It was as if each episode had been written by a different writer and each writer was told […]