Anime by Kenza

[clnme]

Death Note

When I watched Death Note, I found the ideas it posed to be very interesting. Light gets his hands on the death note, which he can kill anyone with by writing their name in it, and he begins to use it to execute criminals, with his behavior growing more unhinged and extreme as the show goes on. In the later parts of the show, Light even begins to kill those who try to uncover his identity, even if they have not committed any crime, such as government workers and eventually L. This question that the show poses is whether it is just to kill evil people, or if it is wrong. Light believes that he is enacting justice, while L believes that this behavior is immoral.

I think that a good portion of L's belief stems from themes similar to the ones represented in Psycho-Pass. Even if it were just to kill evil people, it would be wrong for a single person to do it, as it the solely depends on this person's subjective idea of evil. If I remember correctly, some people within Death Note even refer to Kira as "playing judge, jury, and executioner," which perfectly represents this concept.

What's most interesting is that the how never really sides with either Light or L. The audience is free to view either one as the "protagonist," and thus their ideologies are depicted as equal. This is represented in their conflict as well, as I felt like whether L proves that Light is Kira or Light kills L became more about deciding whose ideology is better rather than one driven by survival.

Personally, my beliefs are more in line with L than with Light, but I don't think that it's necessarily objectively correct. Whichever side is correct is very philosophical, and depends heavily on which ethical values one perceives as most significant.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked how you connected Death Note to Psycho-Pass. That comparison makes a lot of sense, especially with the idea of justice being in the hands of one person.

I also agree that the show doesn’t really push us to side with either Light or L, which makes the whole experience more thought-provoking. It’s interesting how the show lets the audience wrestle with the question of justice rather than giving a clear answer.

[anime-by-kr]

Death Note

Hey everyone! 🌟

Death Note is honestly one of the most intense anime I’ve ever watched, and one of my favorites. I’ve rewatched the show (up until Light’s death) 3 times and every time, it still hits me. There’s something about the mind games, the questions it asks, and the whole cat-and-mouse thing between Light and L that just keeps me hooked.

The anime starts when a super smart high school student named Light Yagami finds a strange notebook called the Death Note. It lets him kill anyone just by writing their name in it, as long as he knows their face. He meets a Shinigami (death god) named Ryuk, who dropped the notebook into the human world just to see what would happen.

Light decides to use it to “cleanse” the world of criminals and create a new society where he’s in control. But then comes L, a genius detective, who tries to catch him. From there, it turns into a battle of brains, lies, and crazy plans.

Power and Control + Justice and Morality

What really gets me is how Death Note mixes power with justice. Light starts off saying he wants to make the world a better place, but the more power he gets, the more twisted he becomes. In episode 5, he doesn’t even hesitate to use people and throw them away like tools.

It made me wonder: does power really change people, or does it just show who they’ve been all along? I mean, Light doesn’t think he’s the bad guy. He thinks he’s the hero. And that’s what makes it scary. When someone truly believes they’re right, they’ll do anything to protect that belief.

L, on the other hand, believes in justice too, but his version is more about truth and keeping the law. Even if he doesn’t always follow the rules, he’s trying to stop someone who’s acting like a god. That clash between them is so intense because neither of them sees themselves as wrong.

The Weight of Decisions

One thing that really hit me was how fast the Death Note changes Light’s life. In episode 1, he hesitates. But by episode 2, he’s already planning how to avoid getting caught. And by episode 10 and 11, he’s willing to hurt innocent people just to stay ahead. Every choice he makes pulls him deeper. It’s like once you step into that kind of power, it’s hard to turn back.

It made me think about how even small decisions can lead to bigger ones. One lie leads to another. One bad choice becomes part of a chain. And suddenly, you’re not the same person anymore. That’s what makes this anime so good.

Death Note has so many layers. The action, the smart moves, the mystery, it’s all awesome. But what sticks with me the most is the way it makes you question what’s right and wrong, and how far someone will go when they think they’re saving the world. Every time I rewatch it, I notice something new.

No matter how many anime I watch, this one always stays in my top favorites.

[difanime]

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This anime does not just talk about alchemy. It talks about consequences, sacrifice, and how ideals are often crushed by reality. The story starts with a bold attempt to bring back the dead. What follows is not punishment, but the long road of trying to fix what has been broken. The law of equivalent exchange is simple on paper, but the story shows that real life is rarely fair or balanced.

One of the most powerful things I noticed is how the anime handles grief. The brothers do not cry often, but you can feel the weight of guilt and loss in how they move forward. Episode 25 hits especially hard. The loss is sudden, but the silence after says more than words. You can tell the world will never go back to how it was. This kind of storytelling captures the feeling of mourning that lingers in people, even when they keep going.

Greed is one of the most interesting characters in this section. At first, he wants everything. Wealth, power, status. But as he spends time in a human body and forms connections, he begins to change. By the end, he sacrifices what he thought he wanted for the people he grew to care about. This scene shows that people are not born evil or good. They change depending on how they are treated, and how they choose to respond to pain.

The anime also draws lines between different kinds of power. Alchemy is powerful, but it cannot fix everything. It cannot restore trust. It cannot undo betrayal. Some of the most dangerous people in the show are not the ones with magic but the ones with influence and ideology. The military leaders, the philosopher kings, and even the father figure who stands at the top; they represent systems that value control over compassion.

The show is also surprisingly political. Different nations, different values. People from Xing see alchemy as medicine and energy, not as a weapon. Their perspective is not dismissed. It is respected. That small detail shows how the anime does not try to say one way is best. It shows how context changes the meaning of power.

This anime respects its audience. It does not spoon-feed morals or give easy answers. Instead, it lets characters make mistakes and live with them. The world keeps turning. Justice is slow. Healing is uncertain. That is why the story stays grounded even when everything else becomes magical or monstrous.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked your point about how the show handles grief, especially the way the brothers carry their pain without needing to say much. That quiet weight feels real.

[anime-by-kr]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Hey everyone! 🌟

The story follows two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. They’re alchemists, which means they can use science to change matter. After their mom dies, they try to bring her back using alchemy, but it fails badly. Ed loses his arm and leg, and Al loses his whole body. His soul gets attached to a suit of armor. They start looking for the Philosopher’s Stone to get their bodies back. As they travel, they find out their country is hiding dark secrets, and there’s a lot of danger around them, some of it coming from the government itself.

Political Greed

One thing that really shocked me was how the government used people just to stay in power. In episode 25, they destroy a whole city and don’t care about the lives they ruined. That made me think about how, in real life, leaders sometimes make choices that hurt people just to keep their control or make money.

Brotherhood

The bond between Ed and Al is one of my favorite parts. From the very start, you can see how much they love and protect each other. In episode 2, Ed risks everything for Al. And by episode 54, their trust and care for each other are even stronger. I have a younger sibling too, so I really felt connected to their story. It reminded me how important it is to be there for the people you care about, no matter what.

This anime has exciting moments, but also deep messages about power, family, and love. I didn’t expect it to be so emotional, but I’m really glad I watched it.

[animediscussionmyblog]

Akira

I knew about Akira from the bike slide that is widely emulated in different media. Neo-Tokyo is shown as a society that never really recovered from its past, and the way the city constantly feels on edge really emphasizes how broken everything is. There’s a sense of anxiety in every part of the movie through the protests, the violence, and the way the government is handling the psychic experiments. Tetsuo’s transformation really stood out to me. At the beginning, he’s just a regular kid—someone who’s always been in Kaneda’s shadow. When he gains powers, it’s supposed to be this moment of control for him, but instead it becomes this horrifying process of losing himself. Watching him spiral made me think about how power without stability can destroy someone. The movie shows that giving someone control doesn’t mean they’re ready for it; especially in a world where no one ever helped them feel seen to begin with. When everything breaks down in the ending, the city basically resets itself. It felt like the movie was saying that sometimes things need to be torn apart before anything new can grow.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked your point about power not being the same as control. Tetsuo’s transformation definitely felt more like a breakdown than a breakthrough. The way you described the constant anxiety in Neo-Tokyo really captured how tense the whole movie feels.

[anime-by-kr]

Akira

Hey everyone! 🌟

Quick summary: Akira is set in a high-tech, post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, a city roughly underwater with anarchy, corruption, and rebellion. It follows two childhood friends, Kaneda and Tetsuo, who get drawn into the chaos when Tetsuo gains god-like psychic powers after an accident. What starts as a teen biker turf war escalates into a humongous, city-destroying conflict that tests what it means to have power — and what happens when that power spirals out of control.

What really stayed with me about Akira was how it illustrates the relationship between unrestricted power and the breakdown of society. Tetsuo's character is frightening, not because of the abilities that he develops, but because of why he craves them. He begins being powerless, and as soon as he experiences a taste of power, he loses himself within it. The power does not liberate him. It isolates and destroys him, and you can see how it wraps his mind. 

At the same time, the world around Tetsuo is broken. Neo-Tokyo is this grimy, decaying city where no one trusts the government, there's constant protest, and teenagers are left to fend for themselves. The rebellion is a space of disillusionment, of wanting something to matter. For me, the anarchy in Tetsuo and in the city were two sides of the same coin: when society fails people, power and rebellion are their way of fighting back, even if it destroys everything.

In the end, Akira is both a warning and a mirror. It makes you question what happens when people or cultures push themselves beyond their limits. And even though it's crazy and out of control and there are a lot of explosions, there's something very human about it. It's about being heard, being seen and what we do when no one is listening.

[difanime]

Kobayashi - Sensoron Gellner - Short History of Mankind

When reading this manga, I felt very uncomfortable almost from the first page; as a Chinese, I felt particularly disgusted. The manga looks like it wants to tell a serious and patriotic story, but its messaging carries something much more political. This is not a normal story about war or history but a carefully framed argument that pushes a revisionist view of Japan’s wartime actions, painting the country not as an aggressor but as a misunderstood liberator of Asia. That view directly challenges public memory and mainstream historical conversations. It also raises many concerns about how media can be used to rewrite or reshape uncomfortable truths, especially during the era when communication is not as fast/convenient as today.

The manga repeatedly shows Japanese soldiers as honorable heroes who willingly sacrificed themselves to protect their homeland. Kobayashi also suggests that modern Japan has lost the noble spirit of these soldiers and now suffers from weakness and selfishness. This argument ignores the many complexities of that period. It removes the voices of the victims and reduces history to a tool for national pride.

The assigned reading on nationalism helps put this in perspective. Gellner explains how nations are not natural but constructed. They require shared myths and symbols. However, Senseron is exactly an attempt to build a national myth through selective storytelling. His framing of Japan as the savior of Asia diminishes the voices of those who suffered under its imperialism. It also denies events like the Nanjing Massacre, where 300,000 unequipped civilians died under Japanese guns and katanas. This kind of narrative is dangerous not just for what it says but for what it refuses to say. It refuses to question the cost of war for those outside the Japanese military, especially civilians in China and Korea.

In modern classrooms or social spaces, there is a constant effort to include multiple voices in historical conversation. But Sensoron rejects that effort. It blames social problems on the loss of wartime values. It glorifies sacrifice without looking at why the war happened or how it harmed others. It uses emotional stories to shut down critical thought. That is not only misleading, but harmful.

So while Sensoron might look like a manga about history or national identity, it reads more like propaganda wrapped in emotional storytelling. It does not invite questions. It avoids accountability. It promotes a dangerous kind of pride that forgets the past rather than facing it.

[anime-by-kr]

I totally agree that Sensōron uses emotional storytelling to push a very specific, selective view of history. I hadn’t really thought about how much it erases the voices of victims until you brought up the Nanjing Massacre and how absent that kind of perspective is. That silence really does say a lot.

[anime-by-kr]

Kobayashi – Sensōron

Hey everyone! 🌟

Kobayashi – Sensōron may look like a war story with explosions and dramatic battles, but it’s more like a comic-book argument. Kobayashi dives straight into Japan’s role in WWII, challenging the idea that Japan should only feel guilt about its past. He calls it “masochistic history” and spends the whole book trying to flip that narrative.

It’s bold, super political, and yeah, controversial. But it also made me think about how history works: not just what happened, but how we remember it, and why that even matters.

One of the big things this manga shows is that history isn’t neutral. Kobayashi treats it like a battlefield, where different sides are fighting over the meaning of the past. He's trying to change the whole story that Japan tells about itself, not just what happened in the war.

It reminded me of something from Gellner’s Short History of Mankind. He talks about how nations aren’t just built on territory or laws, but on shared culture and memory. Without a common story, people feel disconnected. And that’s exactly what Kobayashi is reacting to. He wants to give Japan a story that brings pride instead of shame.

Even if some of his takes feel like historical revisionism, the manga makes a solid point: the way we remember the past shapes how we see ourselves now.

The point of Sensōron is that it isn't trying to be balanced. It’s direct, emotional, and totally unapologetic about what it’s saying. But it also shows how powerful memory is. Whether you agree with Kobayashi or not, the manga forces you to think about who controls history, and how that shapes national identity.

Reading it alongside Gellner made it even more interesting. Gellner explains how nationalism needs shared myths, and Sensōron is Kobayashi’s attempt to write one.

[difanime]

Your Name Foucault - "Method"

This anime has always been known for its stunning animation, but after watching it closely this time, I began to feel how much it quietly expresses emotion through absence and silence. At first, the story felt like a romantic mystery. Taki and Mitsuha keep waking up in each other’s bodies, writing notes to one another as they try to live each other’s lives. They never meet in person, yet somehow their feelings grow stronger. They share memories, but not all at once. They are connected by emotion, but not always by time. The anime never forces an explanation on us. Instead, it builds meaning through gestures and moments.

What made this story feel deeper is the way it ties personal memory to collective loss. When the characters learn about the comet disaster, the tension shifts from romantic confusion to a race against time. Mitsuha’s whole town is in danger. Taki tries to save people he cannot even remember. Even though the story uses magical realism, it reflects something very real. This is a story about remembering those who are forgotten. About holding on to what matters, even when you are not sure why it matters. It is also about the quiet spaces between people, where love and care can form without words.

Foucault talks about power not as a single structure, but as something that is everywhere, hidden inside ordinary relationships. I thought about this while watching the way Mitsuha’s life is shaped by tradition, family, and gender expectations. Her choices are watched closely. Her actions are tied to her role as a daughter and a shrine maiden. Meanwhile, Taki is shaped by a different set of expectations in the city. Neither of them is completely free, but their connection lets them see the world differently. They help each other break away, not through rebellion, but through mutual care.

This anime never directly critiques society. It never raises its voice. Yet it still questions the systems that determine who we remember and who we forget. The body-switching is not just for laughs. It becomes a way to imagine empathy, to experience someone else’s world without explanation. It shows how power works quietly through memory, emotion, and relationships. The comet is not just a disaster. It is a metaphor for what disappears when people are not seen. The final message is not about changing history, but about carrying forward what we almost lost.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked your take on body-switching as a metaphor for empathy. There’s something powerful about how the anime lets us feel what it means to live in someone else’s shoes without needing a big explanation.

[anime-by-kr]

Your Name & Foucault - “Method”

Hey everyone! 🌟

The story follows two teenagers: Mitsuha, a girl living in a small rural town, and Taki, a boy in bustling Tokyo, who mysteriously begin switching bodies. At first, it’s funny and confusing, but as they start to understand each other’s lives, something deeper forms between them. The twist? They’re not just separated by space, but also by time, and a natural disaster is about to change everything.

What really hit me in this anime were the themes of Time and Memory and Fate and Connection. The way Taki and Mitsuha’s memories fade the moment they stop switching bodies is so heartbreaking. They remember the feelings, but not the details, like trying to hold on to a dream that slips away. I think that says a lot about how memory isn’t just about facts; it’s also about emotion, and how we carry people inside us even when we forget their names.

Foucault’s “Method” helped me understand this more. He talks about breaking the idea of a “continuous history,” and Your Name does the same thing with time. Time isn’t straight in this movie: it loops, overlaps, and resets. It’s like Foucault’s idea that we shouldn’t look for one single, neat truth, but instead recognize that meaning comes from fragments and moments. Mitsuha and Taki aren’t connected because of some perfect timeline, but they’re connected because they choose to keep trying, even when they can’t remember why.

That brings me to Fate and Connection. The movie suggests that some people are just meant to find each other, no matter how much the world pulls them apart. But it also shows that fate isn’t passive, it’s something you fight for. Taki running to save Mitsuha’s town, even when he barely remembers her, was one of the most powerful scenes I’ve seen. It felt like a message that connection goes beyond logic.Overall, Your Name is a romantic anime but not only. It’s about the invisible threads that tie us to people and places, and how those connections shape who we are, even when we can’t explain them. It’s emotional, gorgeous, and deep.

[madis-marvelous-blog]

Hetalia: Axis Powers

This is, by far, the weirdest piece of media I have seen in my entire life. The concept of making all the countries people with personalities was pretty interesting, and the stereotypes of France being an "asshole" and England not having good food was funny at first but it got old after a while.

In Hetalia, all the stereotypical traits of a country are blown up and exaggerated. We see this with the scene where America is literally eating burgers while talking, then when Britain says no one can hear him, American decides it must be because of his "advanced vocabulary". Italy, like I said before, is wish-washy and cowardly, and oh so pasta obsessed. France, to (loosely) quote the show, is a bit of a "dick", who's also pretty wish-washy and unserious. Russia is quiet, and doesn't show emotion because it was "drowned out by [his] icy environment". Britain has terrible food (though this one might be right) and is always at odds with America.

This exaggeration for comedic effect pokes fun at these stereotypes. Interestingly, Hetalia both plays into and challenges these preconceived notions at the same time, lining up with what the article argues media has the power to do. By stereotyping everyone, no matter who you are you are bound to feel misrepresented. This creates a subtle feeling of "well this sucks" and gets you thinking the next time you make an assumption about someone before knowing them. It's hard to describe what it feels like to be misrepresented to someone who has never experienced that feeling before, and by misrepresenting absolutely everyone, Hetalia succeeds in this regard.

This anime is trying to get people to realize how bad stereotyping can really be. Not only does it feel frustrating to be misrepresented, but after watching this I can personally say how wrong stereotypes can be. My family is Italian, and seeing how Italy was in the show I was annoyed. I felt as though this character didn't match my mental depiction of Italy in the slightest.

I always knew in my head stereotypes were bad because they could be wrong, but seeing this show really made me understand that fact. This is exactly what Hetalia is attempting to, and successfully at that, accomplish.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked your point about how Hetalia makes everyone feel a bit misrepresented on purpose. It’s such a clever way to show how stereotypes can feel both frustrating and ridiculous. The show definitely uses that discomfort to push us to think more critically about how we see other cultures, and even our own. It’s interesting how something so silly on the surface can actually leave a pretty strong impression.

[anime-by-kr]

Hetalia: Axis Powers & Annett - World Conflict

Hey everyone! 🌟

Hetalia: Axis Powers (Episodes 1–19) is honestly a weird and genius anime. It turns countries into human characters and replays parts of history, mostly World War I and II, as super short, chaotic skits. Italy is this silly, pasta-obsessed guy, Germany is all serious, and Japan is quiet and reserved. At first it feels like just random humor, but there’s more going on underneath.

What stood out most to me was the satire. The show jokes about global conflict, but in a way that kind of makes you reflect on how absurd politics and war can be. Like, nations are fighting, but they’re also acting like petty, clueless roommates. That reminded me of what Annett says in "World Conflict": global issues often come down to communication failures, historical grudges, and competition over power. Hetalia makes fun of that, but also shows how real and recurring those problems are.

The show also plays with stereotypes, which connects to Annett’s point about how countries are shaped by the identities they project and how they’re seen by others. Italy isn’t just silly for no reason, it reflects a stereotype that’s been culturally repeated. Hetalia exaggerates these identities to show how they can get in the way of real understanding.

And believe it or not, there is a way to think about environmentalism too. In Hetalia, the countries are so busy fighting or messing around that they don’t really solve anything, kind of like how the world deals with climate change. Everyone points fingers, but no one wants to take the first step. That fits with Annett’s argument that global conflicts often stall progress on urgent issues that need cooperation.

So yeah, Hetalia is funny, but it’s also a pretty sharp look at how nations behave and how those behaviors keep repeating.

[difanime]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I just played this game recently, and I am so surprised we will watch the plots of this game. This game’s story begins in a world shaped by loss. The land of Alrest floats across a sea of clouds, where humans survive on the backs of massive Titans that continue to age and collapse. These Titans are not only carriers of life but also reminders that the world is slowly coming to an end. People cling to hope. They search for a myth called Elysium. Most do not know what Elysium truly is. They only believe that something better waits beyond the ruins.

Rex, the main character, begins with a simple dream. He wants to help others. He does not seek war or power. He finds Pyra, a Blade who awakens from a long sleep. She carries a power from the past. She also carries another self, Mythra, who remembers more of the truth. Together, they search for a place that might not exist. Their journey brings them into conflict with nations, weapons, and people who fear what Pyra and Mythra represent. They are not just symbols of strength. They are symbols of everything the world has forgotten.

This story does not follow the path of victory. It shows how the desire to control leads to collapse. The Titans continue to fade. The people continue to fight. The Blades continue to be treated as tools. The cycle repeats. Cobb’s reading about the Anthropocene helps explain why. He describes a world where humans separated themselves from nature. They replaced care with conquest. They chased improvement but ignored the cost. This same pattern appears throughout the story. The characters reach for power. They try to fix what was broken by using the same force that caused the damage. The more they try to take, the more they lose.

Cobb believes that change requires something deeper. Not invention. Not domination. A shift in how people see the world. This story supports that idea. Nothing improves until the characters begin to see their role in the suffering. The answers do not come from forgotten science or legendary places. They come from accepting that the past cannot be undone. The future cannot be reached through denial. It can only begin through a new way of living.

The ending does not solve every problem. It offers no easy conclusion. The world remains uncertain. The people remain scarred. But there is something left to hold onto. A choice to rebuild. A choice to carry memory with honesty. A choice to live not by controlling the world but by respecting what remains. That is what gives this story its meaning. That is what lingers after the journey ends.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked how you connected Cobb’s ideas about the Anthropocene to the story in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, it made the story feel so much more meaningful.  Do you think the ending offers real hope for change, or is it more about learning to live with what’s been lost?

[anime-by-kr]

Drama of the Anthropocene

Hey everyone! 🌟

"Drama of the Anthropocene" by John B. Cobb, Jr., makes us think about our impact on the planet. Cobb explains the Anthropocene as this era where human activities are massively affecting Earth. For example, think climate change, pollution, and species loss. He stresses how everything on Earth is connected, meaning our health is linked to the planet's health. He also pushes us to reconsider our values, suggesting we need to prioritize environmental care over profits and rethink our economic system, which often harms the environment and creates social inequality.

Cobb sees science and tech as both part of the problem and the solution, urging us to use them wisely. He believes a cultural and spiritual shift in how we think about nature is essential. Despite the challenges, Cobb is hopeful. He emphasizes activism and policy changes, believing that if we work together, we can make a positive impact.

[anime-by-kr]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Hey everyone! 🌟

Before watching Kojima – Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I expected a fantasy adventure, but it ended up being way deeper than that. The story follows Rex, a young salvager who bonds with a Blade named Pyra. Together, they search for Elysium: a legendary paradise above the clouds. Along the way, they face enemies, uncover secrets, and question what’s real and what’s just a dream.

Two themes really stood out to me: the bond between humans and Blades, and the search for Elysium.

Blades are living beings with emotions and memories (though they lose those memories when they die and return to their Core Crystals). Some Drivers treat their Blades with care, but others just use them. It reminded me of how we treat nature: sometimes with love, but often like a resource to exploit. The stronger the bond between Driver and Blade, the more powerful they become. That balance felt like a message: we need to respect the natural world if we want to survive with it.

Then there’s Elysium. At first, it feels like a goal, a perfect place that’ll fix everything. But the deeper the story goes, the more it feels like a symbol, something people chase because they’ve lost hope in the world they have. It made me think about how we’re always looking for “better” somewhere else (space maybe), instead of trying to fix what’s broken right here. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is set in a fantasy world, but the questions it raises about nature, hope, and survival feel super real. Maybe paradise isn’t a place you find, maybe it’s something you create.

[clnme]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was also somewhat relevant to our previous discussion on gender. It was also briefly mentioned within the professor's talk about kabuki, to elaborate on how concessions are made between anime and kabuki tradition when adapting anime to this medium. One of the points he made here was that in the kabuki adaptation of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Nausicaä's masculinity displayed in the movie is toned down by wearing a more traditional feminine Japanese dress throughout most of the play in addition to participating in very few fight scenes compared to the movie. I might've misunderstood something about what he was talking about in this last part, as I was expecting Nausicaä to fight a lot more in the movie, though Nausicaä's actions in the movie are still evidently more masculine. For instance, Nausicaä does not fly on a glider in the kabuki adaptation.

I took a little glance at the recorded lecture ahead of time, in which the professor dedicates much more focus to the themes of environmentalism. I'm glad I took a peek before I watched the movie, as I might've been tunnel visioned on the other themes we discussed previously instead. This is more opinion than analysis, but the movie's themes of environmentalism were fascinating to me. Most of the characters throughout the film view the "Sea of Decay" and its insect guardians due to a lack of understanding, but the trees within these areas actually serve to purify the Earth, and the insects take a proactive approach in ensuring this continues. This was interesting to me because it felt like the trees and insects weren't just random products of adaptation to a world polluted by humans, but rather like the Earth itself was fighting back and trying to protect itself.

[anime-by-kr]

I really liked your point about how the Earth in Nausicaä seems to be actively protecting itself. It reminded me of how the film blurs the line between nature and character, like the planet has its own agency. I also found the idea of the Sea of Decay being misunderstood really powerful; it flips the usual “nature is dangerous” narrative we see so often.

The part about the kabuki adaptation was super interesting too. I had no idea Nausicaä’s character was changed so much for that medium. Do you think changing her costume and reducing the action scenes shifts how audiences interpret her character? or maybe even the whole story’s message?

[anime-by-kr]

My First Time at SwampCon

Hey everyone! 🌟

This Saturday morning, I did something completely out of the ordinary: I went to SwampCon 2025 at the Reitz Union with my boyfriend. I had never been to anything like this before, and honestly, I didn’t even know what to expect. I’d heard of anime conventions in passing, but I’d never really paid attention to them. So we walked in, completely clueless... and immediately surrounded by a crowd of people in colorful and incredibly detailed cosplay. It was like stepping into a different world.

There were so many rooms and hallways full of activity. One moment we were passing artists displaying prints of their work, the next we were looking at tables covered in plushies, enamel pins, and anime trinkets. I almost bought something for my little brother, a keychain from a show he’s obsessed with: Pokemon, but held back at the last second (no regrets though, it was close!). Most of the time we just wandered around, taking everything in. It felt like every corner of the space had something new and strange and exciting to offer. I even took a selfie with someone in an orange fox fursuit (definitely not something I expected to do when I woke up that morning).

Even though I went in with zero expectations, I left SwampCon feeling like I’d experienced something way bigger than just an event. It was a peek into a passionate community (a fandom) that was both unfamiliar and fascinating.

Fandom, Fan Labor, and What SwampCon Taught Me

Reflecting on SwampCon through the lens of our class discussions, I realized I had just witnessed a living, breathing example of what fandom is all about. Fandom isn't just about watching shows or playing games: it's about participating in a culture. People weren’t just consuming media; they were transforming it into something new through cosplay, art, merch, and performances.

This ties into the idea of fan productivity. All those vendors and artists? Many of them were fans creating their own interpretations of the media they love. They weren’t “official” creators from big studios, they were just people using their skills to make something personal, and often profitable. That’s a great example of how fandom turns passive watching into active creating.

Also, I saw how shadow cultural capital plays a role. If you didn’t know certain characters or anime references, you were a bit out of the loop (which, to be honest, I often was). That kind of knowledge of knowing who’s cosplaying who or what certain memes mean gives fans social status inside the community. It’s not “official” knowledge, but within fandom spaces, it matters just as much as anything you’d learn in school.

Another concept we talked about: the database model, also came to mind. Think of something like the animal database, where fans collect and categorize characters, traits, or “types.” At SwampCon, I could see that kind of logic everywhere. So many booths grouped characters by series or vibe (e.g. “cute animal sidekicks,” “angsty boys,” “magical girls”), and fans instinctively knew how to navigate it. It’s a way of organizing meaning in a world overflowing with content.

SwampCon 2025 was unexpected, a little overwhelming, but super eye-opening. I went just to check it out but ended up learning more about creativity, community, and culture. It gave me a deeper appreciation for fandom, not just as a personal passion, but as a rich and complex world of meaning-making and connection.