Spirited Away – A Refresher on the Fairy Tale Story Pattern

Having recently seen Hayao Miyazaki’s fantastic Spirited Away* again, I was struck by something I had not noticed before. It is a minor detail, one the story takes for granted, and so it is easy to miss. This is especially the case in a day and age where the fairy tale has largely been either …

“A New Universe…”

Pardon the quote from The Avengers*, readers, but it is fitting. Japan is going to attempt their own MCU-style film serial starring some of their most famous properties. These include Godzilla*, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and an Evangelion series. Since I have not kept up with Evangelion I hesitate to say which version it is; the …

Yet Another Livestream

Once again, I was privileged to be on the Superversive Livestream, readers! Anthony Marchetta and I were able to fill two hours discussing the anime and light novel series 86 – Eighty-Six* by Asato Asato. If you remember my piece on mad scientists and have dropped by my newsletter, then you have already learned some …

The Eastern Ace

Click the link below to read the rest of this intriguing story, readers! From Zero to Hero- Saburō Sakai-The Samurai of the Skies Feb 26, 2019 Billy Moncure, Guest Author With over 60 victories and over 20 confirmed kills, Saburō Sakai was a legend among Japanese pilots. Not only was his record of victories remarkable, …

Reposted: My Jedi Academy

A worthy piece from Mr. Winchester, readers! Check it out! My Jedi Academia So recently we got snowed in for a couple of days so I finally got to watch the first two seasons of My Hero Academia. It’s a great, solid show. I expected to like it and it went PLUS ULTRA on my …

Return to the Superversive Livestream!

It’s been a busy month, readers! Nothing attests to this fact better than the knowledge that I was on no less than two Superversive Livestreams and had little attention to spare to tell you about them. The first stream focused on Mecha and took place December 26 of last year: Sunday Superversive Livestream: All things …

Reposted: One Hundred Poets’ One Poem

Check out this excellent piece by John C. Wright, readers! One Hundred Poets’ One Poem I stumbled across video clip from a foreign movie that attracted my attention. The film is called ちはやふる — and I cannot read Japanese, so I have no idea at first what this means or what the film was about. …

Honor on the Battlefield

A good reminder of our history and heroes, readers: Second Lieutenant Yeiki Kobashigawa, US Army: Medal of Honor Series On June 2, 1944, Yeiki Kobashigawa, 100th Infantry Battalion, led an incredible attack on the Germans in Italy. Fifty-six years later, he received the Medal of Honor for this action. June 2, 2021 Yeiki Kobashigawa was born …

Writerly Sound Bites, Number 7: Character Progression – How Broken Mentors and Mentors Who Aren’t Broken Deal with the Loss of What They Held Dear

Last week we established that a broken character can and often does maintain the traits he spent years developing even when he chooses to act contrary to his nature. When a man like Bowen from Dragonheart* becomes a dragonslayer, for example, he is doing so in an effort to atone for an error he made, …

From Ireland to Japan: “Let there be light!”

“Blessed are you when they persecute you, and hate you, for My sake.” We were never promised an easy life by Our Lord. It’s natural enough to want it, to ask for it, and to be unhappy about not having it. But I think we too often forget this warning delivered at the end of …