The battle in episode XY013 of the Pokémon anime starts off with a curious stipulation: if Ash loses, he has to accompany his opponent to a destination of their choosing. If his opponent were a shadowy man in a trench coat, this would be severely alarming, but since his opponent is a pretty lady who … Continue reading Pulling a Bait-and-Switch to No End – Pokémon XY
Category: On Anime
What’s the Difference? Howl’s Moving Castle
The transition of Howl's Moving Castle from novel to film is interesting. The lot of the differences come from two sources: the adaptation process itself and the director who helmed the production, Hayao Miyazaki, who put his thumbprint on the flick. Each medium has its share of characters unique to that form, so when I … Continue reading What’s the Difference? Howl’s Moving Castle
Worldbuilding Using Danmachi’s Building Block Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is a tricky bronco for some writers to tame. When proclaiming yourself god of a new world, a lot of questions will demand to be stewed. This might not be as much of an issue if you're writing a Japanese romance set in a Japanese high school with Japanese customs and Japanese culture because … Continue reading Worldbuilding Using Danmachi’s Building Block Worldbuilding
Weathering With You Can’t Weather Your Name’s Quality
Makoto Shinkai's films have been praised since his debut onto the anime scene, and before you can get the third syllable of his name out, anybody you're talking to will gush about how unbelievably amazing his movies are. With high praise like that, it almost feels like there's some malfunction with my eyeballs, because I … Continue reading Weathering With You Can’t Weather Your Name’s Quality
What Another Side: Earthbound Fills In That Your Name Left Out
Makoto Shinkai's latest opus, Weathering With You, just hit theaters, and me being the privileged first-world citizen that I am went and saw it, and it was pretty good. The insert songs featuring Toko Miura are top-notch, and there's a shot of a fireworks display while the camera pans through Tokyo that's absolutely stunning. I … Continue reading What Another Side: Earthbound Fills In That Your Name Left Out
Putting Stuff in Your Story and Actually Using It
If you've devoted as much of your lifetime to absorbing stories as much as I have, it'll come as second knowledge that when a character points to a baseball bat on the wall and comments, “I use that in case of rapid clown attacks,” and then the third act features a tsunami of foaming, savage … Continue reading Putting Stuff in Your Story and Actually Using It