Blog Archives
Something More: Jesus and Buddha Talk Evangelion, Buddhism in Paprika, and Haibane Renmei’s Purgatory
I took a break last week from Something More, so today’s links are for articles posted over the last fortnight. Enjoy!
Nami gives her thoughts on Trigun, including how Vash and Wolfwood’s beliefs mirror or disagree with her own Christian ones. [BookLoversUnite]
Rocklobster gives Haibane Renmei a 10/10 and in his review, mentions the possible Christian allusions in the series. [Lobster Quadrille]
In his Secret Santa post, dliessmgg closes by mentioning the possible Buddhist ideas underlying Paprika. [Inflating the Tokidoki Balloon]
Hervé St-Louis gives an unfavorable review of the Happy Science anime film, The Mystical Laws. [ComicBookBin]
Teaser trailers for the Saint Young Men film are up and apparently satire Evangelion (someone fill me in?). [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.
Turn the Other Cheek, Ikari!
Neon Genesis Evangelion is full of memorable scenes. Among those is an early one featuring Shinji and Rei on an escalator. Shinji, full of anger toward his father, expresses his frustration. The mostly emotionless Rei responds in a surprising way – by slapping her fellow pilot.
If Ikari had been a Christian (like Misato?), perhaps he would have literally turned the other cheek. After all, this was instruction provided by Jesus. Then again, maybe he would have been interpreting that instruction wrongly. In his book, Gospel: Recovering the Power That Made Christianity Revolutionary, J.D. Greear posits that the cheek was symbolic of relationships to Jews in Jesus’ time. Striking the cheek meant to break that relationship, while offering the other meant to “reoffer” the relationship.
This reminds me of another scene in Evangelion that happens just a few episodes later. Shinji, still stung by years of neglect, begins to speak to his father again. They visit a gravestone commemorating Shinji’s mother and have some tender words (as much as they are capable of). It would be a monumental step toward reestablishing relationship – toward turning the other cheek – if not for the irredeemable spirit that is Gendo Ikari.
Art by Siv
Most of the people we come into contact with are quite unlike Gendo; though they may be full of pride, most are still willing to bend somewhat. And when we understand the radical love that can transform our lives, and how irredeemable we ourselves are, we are able to step forward and offer the other cheek to difficult people we know.
Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: Kokoro Community, Fairies Invent Religion, and Exorcising Anime Demons
Draggle continues his fabulous series of posts on Kokoro Connect, defining community and showing how various characters contributed to being part of one in episode eight, before tying it all together with biblical teachings. [Draggle's Anime Blog]
Processr compares episode nine of Humanity Has Declined to Gulliver’s Travels, complete with criticism of religion. [Anipulse]
Lady Saika examines demon possession in Supernatural and Blue Exorcist, and invites readers to give other examples. [Lady Geek Girl and Friends]
Mira mentions the spiritual journey in The Wings of Honneamise in her collaboration post with Cholisose. [Cholisose!]
Sweetpea finishes her Evangelion posts with End of Evangelion, and closes with some discussion of the characters’ attempts at creating a god. [Going in Blindly]
Shinji and Me: Up and Down and Up Again
I relate to Shinji Ikari more than I’d like to admit.
A friend of mine is diving into Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time, and I’m sure she’s discovering what I saw in my first viewing, that Shinji Ikari has great highs and great lows, and not necessarily with the latter first and earlier last. His experience does not lead to linear growth in character building.
Such is me.
Art: “Beautiful World” by はち@ついった
A few months ago, I shared how I’d grown a lot spiritually during my time in the hospital. And for days and weeks afterward, I was a new person. Unfortunately, that lifestyle hasn’t lasted. Like a high school kid at a church retreat, I’d lost my momentum and returned to my normal self – my often grumpy, generally impatient, and usually hypocritical self.
Like Shinji, who receives praise after annihilating an angel, even after reaching a high, I still find a way to sink low. This, even knowing that becoming a better person is within reach.
I guess that’s human nature. Read the rest of this entry
Passion Week, Day 4: Loving You for Who You Are – Kaji and Misato
Neon Genesis Evangelion, the first series I ever owned on DVD, introduced me to the idea of “shipping.” I didn’t know that term back then, but I did know I was interested in certain couples becoming items.
But I didn’t just focus on the obvious in the Eva pilot love triangle. I also liked the coupling of Misato and Kaji, who remain my two favorite characters from the series.
Art: "【EVA】The Dawn" by C.T.魚餅子
The early episodes with Kaji largely portray him as smug and a womanizer. And early on, Misato seems completely in control in any and every situation. However, as the series progresses, the two depictions change – Kaji is more heroic and loving and Misato is more lost and unsure.
The truth is, neither character is what they seem at first. Certainly, Misato’s is the one who suffers the most from the change in characterization. But in terms of the world depicted in the show, Kaji knows from the beginning who Misato really is. He knows her struggles, her past, and her insecurities.
And he loves her anyway. Read the rest of this entry
Spirituality in the Anime Blogosphere: CCM Artist (and Close Anime Geek) Cait Plage, Angel Beats Heaven, and Haruhi’s Five Proofs
In M.E.X. Magazine, Christian musician Cait Plage (who previously interviewed with us) mentions the extensive anime dubbing she and her friends did in the past [M.E.X Magazine]:
Well, I am a true nerd at heart. In middle school, I was a closet anime/video game geek….I would spend hours upon hours every day recording lines, auditioning, and ‘hanging out’ online with my VA friends.
Our newest blogger, Zeroe4, continues his “Last Requiem” series on his other blog by comparing heaven with the afterlife represented in Angel Beats! [Zeroe4]
However, in Angel Beats! and heaven there is love and camaraderie. In Angel Beats! and heaven everyone has a place they fit and everyone finds where that is. In heaven and Angel Beats! there is value placed on every person.
SnippetTee, who has sneakily become one of my favorite bloggers, explores the pneumatic side of dreams in relation to Mushishi. [Lemmas and Submodalities]
Tom Langston was disappointed that the “Philosophy in Anime” panel at SacAnime was cancelled, so he briefly discusses what might have been presented, particularly relating Haruhi Suzumiya to Thomas Aquinas’ Five Proofs. [Nigorimasen!]
Jonathan Tappan posts an excellent and helpful timeline for Mawaru Penguindrum, which largely revolves around events (true and fabricated) involving the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult. [FunBlog]
RocketNews24 reports that makers of traditional Japanese swords will be commissioned to cast replicas of weapons from Neon Genesis Evangelion. The first is that of the Lance of Longinus, a weapon in Evangelion that shares a name given to the spear that pierced Christ’s side. [RocketNews24]
Monsieur LaMoe begins his post on Aquarion Evol by quoting Jesus on eunuchs, and goes into detail about the three different kinds that He mentioned. From there, I’m really not sure where he goes (I admit it – I got lost). [Anime Diet]
And to conclude on a cheery note, Steelbound wishes us all a Happy (February) Christmas. [The Null Set]
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As part of the Spirituality in the Anime Blogsophere 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.
Sermon of the Penguins, Why Madoka Isn’t All That, and a New Jesus Anime
Draggle presents an awesome analysis of episode 11 of Mawaru Penguindrum, including a discussion of fate (with some mentioning of Christianity).
Speaking of Mawaru Penguindrum, Landon comments on the ritualistic nature of the series, which he compares to Sunday sermons, with somewhat unfavorable views on both (caution: lots of foul language).
Patrick Woodward, the (uncredited?) author of The Manga Jesus and The Manga Bible, talks about the press’ reactions to Jesus in manga form, manga’s theme of conflict resolution, and the potential of his recent project to realize The Manga Jesus as an anime.
Chad thinks Madoka Magica is overrated, and among other things, doesn’t buy into those that see Christian overtones in the series (like me, me and her), instead thinking that the Buddhist interpretations are more accurate (which, to be fair, is true after all).
Christina asks for prayers for her soldier friend and muses on our everyday complaints.
2DT discusses the modern myth of Belldandy.
If you’re like me and haven’t been paying attention to Blue Exorcist (and even if you are), I think the talk about Satan’s babies and the Pope ordering bombings in episode 23 will be good for a chuckle.
Finally, a reminder that Christmas is coming up (it’s only like…80-something days away!) in the form of that Japanese tradition of Christmas cakes, and in these cases, featuring Evangelion and K-On!
Aniblogger Testimony: Anime helped me become an atheist
Wouldn’t you know it? Two weeks after I wrapped up this series, I received a request to add another post to it. Ashita is new to the world of aniblogging. I encourage you to check out his site, Ashita no Anime, and to read his wonderfully-written piece below.
How my religious life (now a lack thereof) relates to anime is a bit complicated. I promise you I will get to the point, but I feel there needs to be some background introduced first for this to all make sense.
I was born into a Roman Catholic family and went to a private Catholic school for my elementary and junior high years. But despite this upbringing, I never felt that I had religion forced on me. Mostly I feel my parents went along with the whole church thing because they wanted me to grow up around a higher class of people and so I could go to a school with smaller class sizes. A lot of things the church taught me didn’t make sense, even then. I was encouraged to seek the answers however I saw fit and never met any resistance to questioning my faith, but I was too young to really understand what was going on. Once I started high school, my family and I slowly stopped going to church. But at that time I still felt that I was connected with god.
