Category Archives: Atheism
Something More: Christ’s Sacrifice > Madoka’s, Oukoku Christian Game, and AnoHana and the Supernatural
I didn’t update “Something More” last week, so today’s links include two week’s worth. Sorry for the delay!
Japes looks at the supernatural in AnoHana and how we might approach the topic from a Christian point of view. [Japesland]
Nick Calibey responds to a post that argues that Madoka’s sacrifice in Puella Magi Madoka Magica was greater than Christ’s. [A Rather Silly Blog]
D.M. Dutcher previews Oukoku Game, a manga with a really interesting concept involving Christianity. [Cacao, put down the shovel!]
D.M. Dutcher also reviews several works for Christian viewers/readers:
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As part of the Something More series of posts, each week Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
Something More: Modoka > Jesus Concludes
After last week’s barrage of spiritual articles, this week has been much slower. Still, a few terrific articles were posted, as Alexander of Ashita no Anime concluded his Madoka > Jesus series.
Alexander claims that Jesus creates some kind of co-dependency as a savior, which Madoka does not. [Ashita no Anime]
He concludes by emphasizing that God is tyrannical, which Madoka is not. [Ashita no Anime]
I highly recommend you read through Alexander’s series, which is quite thought-provoking. His tone may be off-putting (I’ll admit, I didn’t comment on a number of posts because I felt too emotional to leave comments due to how Alexander references Christ at times), but it’s one that has led to some good debate. And as such, I recommend, also, that you read the comments following the entries as closely as the post themselves.
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As part of the Something More series of posts, each week Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
Something More: Madoka v. Jesus, Kirino Acts Like a Christian, and Christ the Stampede
It was quite a week for spiritual and religion tinged articles in the anime blogosphere, headlined by Alexander’s still on-going series entitled, Madoka > Jesus. Here are his posts thus far:
- Human vs God
- The True Sacrifice
- Benevolence Given Freely
- Madoka Succeeded, Jesus Failed
- Madoka is More Plausible
Nick Calibey responded to Alexander’s post with his own article. [A Rather Silly Blog]
Stardf29 reviews episode 3 of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet and makes connections between the importance of “thank you” and life lived less legalistically. [A Series of Miracles]
D.M. Dutcher compares Kirino’s treatment of her otakuness in Oreimo to how Christians often treat their faith. [Cacao, put down the shovel!]
In another post, he makes some great comparisons between the humorous hero, Vash the Stampede, and Christ, as well as to scenes in Trigun: Badlands Rumble and the “problem of pain. [Cacao, put down the shovel!]
Dutcher also advises Christians in his reviews of Aoi Sekai No Chuusin De and season one of Oreimo.
Japes, who guest-blogged for us earlier this week, is off and running on his own aniblog, beginning with an introduction of his theology. [Japesland]
Japes also brings his faith into a defense of Vocaloid as an artistic expression. [Japesland]
Medieval Otaku points out Christian theology and themes in his review of several manga, including Superior and Vinland Saga. [Medieval Otaku]
So…the Jesus and Buddha characters of Saint Young Men are now being used to market fashion merchandise. Interesting. [Anime News Network]
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As part of the Something More series of posts, each week Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
Something More: Madoka > Jesus?
A prime goal of this blog is to encourage open discussion about faith, using anime as medium through we can ask questions, give answers, and promote knowledge and understanding. I’m thankful that our posts here recently had some role in encouraging Tommy of Anime Bowl to write an article about how Madoka is lacking as a Christ figure. And inspired by Tommy’s post, our old friend Alexander, who has contributed plenty to Beneath the Tangles by bring a very different viewpoint to user comments, guest posts, and cooperative posts, is beginning a week long series focusing solely on this idea: why Madoka is a better savior than Jesus.
Interesting topic, huh?
He’ll be posting daily this week. Please visit Ashita no Anime to read the first of his posts, and return throughout the week to comment on others:
Top Blog Posts About Anime and Religion in 2012: #11-20
Last year, I gave my 12 favorite posts about anime and religion to end the year. And though I had to leave out a number of great article to fit within that number, I was generally happy with the list. This year, I just had to expand my list to twenty to match the volume of great content being written by anibloggers.
Art by けむけむ
Yesterday, I gave numbers 1-10; here are the remaining ten, in chronological order:
11. Oh, My Pop-Culture Jesus: Christianity in Anime
5.6.2012
written by Lady Saika of Lady Geek Girl and Friends
A particularly strange case is that of Saiyuki – the story is based on a a founding myth of Mahayana Buddhism, for cripe’s sake, and the main character is a Buddhist priest, but in the anime at least, we see statues of the Virgin Mary protecting a town from demons in a way that nothing Buddhist can.
Read also: Oh, My Pop-Culture Jesus: Let’s Make a Deal and Oh, My Pop-Culture Jesus: An Examination of Clergy in Anime
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Episode 08: Falling From (and Into) Faith
There’s no house here anymore. Dad’s gone, too.
Episode 8 of Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! continues where seven left off, with Tōka attempting to force Rikka into seeing the visible truth – their father, along with their former house, are gone. The older sister utters the words above as she tearfully pushes Rikka to face reality.
Art by いれぅ
Last week, I joined Alexander in discussing similar scenes in the series for his Ashita no Anime podcast. He sees the show as an atheist allegory. Rikka chooses to believe in something unreal, oblivious to reality. Yūta, meanwhile, has thrown off the shackles of his former ways and now lives according to the truth. Alexander sees the chuunibyou ways of Dark Flame Master and the Wicked Eye as the false trappings of religion, while life without God as reality. Thus, the quote starting this post would take a deeper meaning in light of this idea.
Obviously, I disagree with Alexander’s assessment of religion, but I think his comparisons are dead on.
Rikka isn’t ready to face the truth yet; but eventually, she will be. While she may be a bit immature for her age, perhaps Tōka should forgive Rikka for her strange coping mechanism, since she’s still young.
For those of us who are older, though, we lack excuses for examining our belief. Read the rest of this entry
Anime Podcast: Atheists, Christians, and Eyepatch Girls
This past weekend, I was blessed to take part in the Ashita no Anime podcast. Alexander, who has been a friend to this blog, was gracious enough to invite me to speak about an interesting topic: the religious allusions in the most unlikely of anime, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! I think you might enjoy the podcast, as Alexander approaches from an atheist perspective and I from a Christian perspective. Plus, he’s an excellent host!
Art by 柊ゆづは＠衰退
I’m not particularly a strong speaker, nor am I a strong apologist or an educated theologian (either by my own study or through higher education). So, if I’ve misrepresented the faith or if you just have a different viewpoint from my own, please let me know in the comments below.
Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: Godless Haibane, Saints for Anime, and Faith in Madoka
This has been an exemplary week for religion/spiritual/Christian themed post in the blogosphere. While I usually post links to articles that sometimes only briefly mention connections to spirituality in anime, there are a number of well-written post this week fully dedicated to the topic.
Alexander, whose no stranger to blogging about his transition from Christian to atheist, takes an interesting approach to Haibane Renmei, departing from his usual episodic posts to explain how the the series rather espouses his Humanist beliefs. [Ashita no Anime]
Nick Calibey uses hermeneutics in writing a wonderful essay to Orthodox Christians explaining the value that can be found in watching anime. [A Rather Silly Blog]
Nick also begins a series on Madoka Magica, introducing the series and particularly defining faith and discussing it in terms of Madoka’s relationship with her mom. [A Rather Silly Blog]
Draggle outlines Inaba’s confession and redemption scene in episode 10 of Kokoro Connect, comparing it to Paul’s gospel message in the Book of Romans. [Draggle's Anime Blog]
Ladybacula examines how clergy are portrayed in anime, using Justin Law of Soul Eater and Apocryphos of D.Gray-Man as examples. [Lady Geek Girl and Friends]
John Noel has a fascinating post comparing Sword Art Online to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave; he also mentions Christian symbolism in the show. [chaostangent]
Landon dives into the, er, “[messed up] theology” of Hells. [Mecha Guignol]
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As part of the Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere series of posts, each week, Beneath the Tangles links to writings about anime and manga that involve religion and spirituality. If you’ve written such a piece or know of one, please email TWWK if you’d like it included.
Persona 4′s “Key Plus Words”: Searching for Truth
Alexander of Ashita no Anime often provides me with thoughtful perspectives on things we’re both passionate about – particularly anime and religion. Our discussions are interesting because we generally have diverging opinions. For instance, Alexander is establishing a reputation as the alternative voice in episode reviews (he was disappointed in Sakamichi no Apollon before it was popular to feel this way), while I’m about as mainstream as they come. Our religious beliefs are similarly disparate – though we both have Christian backgrounds, I’ve clung strongly to my faith while Alexander is now an atheist.
A few weeks ago, Alexander sent me a link to lyrics from “Key Plus Words,” the song used in the ED for episodes 13 through 22 of Persona 4. I don’t think he’ll mind if I quote something he wrote about it:
This song is very powerful for me because it nearly perfectly mirrors the transition in my life from a confused Christian to a logical atheist.
The lyrics do certainly seem to mirror the journey many might take from starting as a Christian to discovering the truth that, as they might see it, Christianity is false. Read the rest of this entry
