Spooky October: Lita’s Top Ten Anime Halloween Recommendations

A very solid list of anime to watch for Halloween.

Why…

Hello there my pretties,
Finally this weekend is Halloween not that I’ll be doing much for it mostly likely rewatching shiki or ghost hunt and some Buffy the Vampire slayer because It’s something I need in my life. My spooky October is going to come to an end after this post as I have not done half the things I wanted to do this month, things got in the way and blogging in the week is really hard currently. I managed to give at least two anime reviews I suppose but things will return to normal after this post as there is many more things I wish to blog about more.

In this final spooky post I bring you some anime’s that you should watch during the Halloween weekend, this list of anime I have seen all of them and are not ranked in any particular order. There are…

View original post 2,536 more words

Conspiracies and Catholicism: Halloween

A great post to read on Catholicism and Halloween, especially with All Hallow’s Eve just around the corner.

Head Noises

These are articles originally published at the Catholic Stand online magazine; I plan to reprint and then continue the series here.

All Hallow’s Eve, when ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night, are all out in force….

Well, I already dealt with monsters back in the demon, vampire and Frankenstein articles, but there are still a lovely bunch of little Halloween things to look at.

Pag-again?
Just like every other big Catholic thing, it’s supposedly Pagan to have a party during the vigil before All Saint’s day. There is a long history of having a sort of harvest festival in pretty much any culture that can produce more than they can store (frequently it’s when you harvest fruits or slaughter the animals before winter) and there was one called Samhain in Ireland. There’s another one coming up in the US, called Thanksgiving…

View original post 871 more words

Examining Old School Anime: Magical Card Decks

A post I wrote yesterday on Beneath the Tangles about superstition in Lupin III.

Beneath the Tangles

Watching episode eight of Lupin III, “Everyone Meets Again, the Trump Plan,” reminded me of the ill-effects of superstition.  Lupin, Fujiko, Jigen, and Goemon all participate in stealing a millionaire’s playing card set, which used to be owned by Napoleon.  You see, Napoleon’s victories came about through him having the cards, and he lost them during his expedition to Russia, which led to his defeat and exile.  In the case of the millionaire, they allowed him to become wealthy.  Never mind personal talents or hard work!

Priceless look of surprise and anguish on Napoleon’s face.

Sine dubio, our readers see the problem with this attitude: reliance on the good luck charm replaces trust in God.  In The City of God, St. Augustine exclaims about how many different kinds of gods there were in Rome.  Apparently, doors needed three gods: one for the hinges, another for the frame…

View original post 659 more words

Conflict in Early Monogatari Anime

Very interesting article about how conflict provides a means for bonding in Monogatari, which I should endeavor to finish at some point. Also, it’s good to see theSubtleDoctor blogging more frequently.

ray][out

Conflict is an important concept in Monogatari.  Humans clash with supernatural beings.  Words and bodies collide with one another.  Some character relationships can be defined by conflict.  However, it is not just a plot device; analysis of the meaning of conflict, distinguishing types of conflict, and commenting on the fallout from conflict are all thematic elements of the story of Monogatari.

The “philosophy of conflict” present in the anime really grabbed me.  I decided to follow this theme through the early anime and discuss different kinds of conflict present therein.  For each type, I briefly summarize a scene in which the conflict occurs, attempt to define the type and finally consider how the characters are effected by it.  There will be tangents.

This article is not meant to be a complete taxonomy of the kinds of conflict in Monogatari.  I haven’t seen all the anime in the…

View original post 1,907 more words

Rating the Anime of Summer 2015 and A New Watch List

As usual, I find myself late to the party when it comes to posting my ratings for the past season.  However, I have already given my opinions of Gangsta! (here), Wakako-zake (here), and Arslan Senki and Aoharu x Kikanjuu (here).  This leaves two anime from my old watch list not reviewed by me, and the post will describe my opinions of them.  But, let me list my ratings of the other four below:

1. Arslan Senki ★★★★1/2
2. Gangsta ★★★★
3. Aoharu x Kikanjuu★★★1/2
4. Wakako-zake ★★★

 

 

And here are my opinions of Gate and Rokka no Yuusha:

Concrete Revolutio & Moral Relativism

Well, I haven’t posted for over a week now.  Most of my writing time and energy has gone to a novel I’m writing and the rest to answering Jubilare’s excellent arguments prompted by my article concerning the inequality of the sexes.  How often on the internet does one see people arguing intelligently about something and both profiting from the discussion?  It helps that Jubilare and I come from a similar theological background, but one should not absolutely need a common background in order to profit from an argument.  The only thing absolutely needed is a belief in absolutes.  Most modern argumentation, especially in the political arena, falls to the level of a shouting match where each person vies for more time to air their viewpoints, because confidence counts more than truth to the masses.  That modern man relies more on rhetorical tricks and sophistry shows the lack of logical and philosophical training in people’s education and the atmosphere of moral relativism in which we live.  Political correctness and ideological purity have taken the place of philosophy.

Yesterday, I almost watched two episodes of Concrete Revolutio in my quest to finalize my watch list for this season.  I’ll admit that I was in a black mood, which caused me to see the bad points of the show more than the good.  Though, the episode at first excited me with it’s allusion to Black Cat.

Tell me that no one else is reminded of Sven Vollfied in the cafe during episode one of Black Cat.

Examining Old School Anime: The Inequality of the Sexes

My latest article on Beneath the Tangles. It talks about the relationship between the sexes in the order of creation. At least, that’s what I was going for. 🙂

Beneath the Tangles

Watching Lupin III and reading perhaps too much of Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, a philosopher who would have agreed with Charles V Britannia’s points on inequality, inspired this article.  The word inequality strikes many people’s ears like the word injustice, but this is hardly the only way to think about inequality: it is only the unequal application of the law which is truly unjust.  We are literally surrounded by various forms of inequality which delight us.  Observe the order of nature: each species has its particular order and function–not one species performs the exact same role, under the same circumstances, and in the same way.  In the rational order, i.e. among men and angels, we observe even more inequalities with differing faces, bodies, personalities, talents, and backgrounds.  Most diverse of all would have to be the angels, each of whom, St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, is not only a different…

View original post 860 more words

Criticising Criticism (or ‘Why Deleting Someone’s Comments is Stupid’)

A very good post on criticism in aniblogs.

Notes to Old Anime

Bon soir, mes chers lecteurs!  Since these posts tend to run a bit long, my introduction shall be brief–or rather, not an introduction at all.  It’s come to my attention that I have watched 381 anime as of this moment.  So, a Ten Movie Countdown to 400 is imminent–just like I had a Ten Movie Countdown to 300 back in February 2014.  This should be fun, and–like the last time–I intend my dear readers to have a say in which films I should watch.  If you have any suggestions for me, please peruse my Anime-Planet Profile, and comment below or send me an e-mail at medievalotaku@gmail.com.

Completed

1. The Rose of Versailles ★★★★1/2

After Captain Harlock, this stands as the best anime classic I’ve watched recently.  Viewing this show felt like reading The Three Musketeers or another Alexandre Dumas novel, except with more tragedy.  The sad occurrences in a Dumas novel tend to be offset by the universal hope in salvation, but not so much in The Rose of Versailles.  Actually, it does exist in The Rose of Versailles, but mostly for the pure of heart rather than all except the decidedly reprobate, i.e. Milady de Winter.

Brief Reviews of Two Catholic Books

Here comes that promised review of The King’s Good Servant but God’s First by James Monti in addition to St. Alphonsus de Liguori’s The Glories of Mary, which I happened to obtain free from the traditional Catholic organization, America Needs Fatima.  On occasion, their e-mails and newsletters kindly offer free books, religious medals, and even blessed rosaries in the hopes of strengthening the Catholic faith in America.  (Since I have not been able to donate for a while, I owe this force for good some advertising for all the free stuff they’ve sent me and will send me.)  At any rate, Monti’s biography of St. Thomas More sticks closely to historical facts and the Christian polemics raging at that time.  On the other hand, de Liguori’s work focuses on the passages of patristics, medieval saints, later writers, and miraculous stories associated with St. Mary in order to stir up one’s devotion.  As such, I can recommend the former to any studious individual (I myself could barely put the book down), while The Glories of Mary has devout Catholics as its target.

The goal of increasing devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary holds such value that one who propagates her devotion is certainly saved.  Also, all the saints attest to the necessity of being devoted to the Mother of God.  So, The Glories of Mary is quite a necessary book, though it did not stir my devotion as much as The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude.  The best part of St. Alphonsus’s book lies in the many examples of St. Mary saving sinners from final damnation–even those sinners whose devotion to St. Mary was very slight or even those who just managed to call on her just prior to death.  One is reminded of the devil in Dante’s Purgatorio complaining about the many sinners St. Mary snatches from his hands.

How Re-Kan’s Amami Reminds Me of a Prayerful Catholic

Happy Feast of the Guardian Angels!  How blessed we are that God has given us each a guardian angel who never leaves us for one moment–even when our actions displease our angel.  And no, our guardian angels don’t leave us when we grow up, as if we should need less help against the forces of evil the further along our road to holiness.  So, take a moment to thank God for your guardian angel, and thank your angel for all the help and graces God has seen fit to convey you through this angel.

 

In today’s materialistic world, such a feast strikes many as superstitious.  Anything touching upon the supernatural, whether souls, ghosts, miracles, the saints, the sacraments, or even God, is usually treated with distrust or contempt.  Sometimes, these responses are quite healthy.  After all, even though the Church herself approves certain events as miracles, she only requires us to believe the miracles of Scripture as articles of faith.  I am reminded of a Father Brown story where our hero is presumed dead and then rises back to life in the midst of his own funeral.  As the people rejoice over a miracle, Father Brown declares that miracles are not so cheap.  Hurrying to a phone, Father Brown rapidly explains to his bishop how a criminal drugged him so that he would appear dead and awaken during his funeral.

Summer Anime 2015 Review (Part 3/3)

Third and final installment of Beneath the Tangles Season reviews. Here, I reviewed Arslan Senki, which was my favorite show of this season, and Aoharu x Machinegun.

Beneath the Tangles

Here’s our final part of the summer anime 2015 review! We’ve saved the best for last (or did we?)

Arslan Senki
Arslan Senki

Medieval Otaku – 9/10

Arslan Senki is one of those shows which just misses a certain something–je ne sais quoi–to render it a masterpiece.  I love the massed battles, compelling and unique characters, and the torrent of schemes and traps Arslan and his champions must dodge.  Though the setting is reminiscent of the Persian Empire, they bring in weapons and armor relating more to the Middle Ages–perhaps to give it more of a fantasy atmosphere.  (Persians did not have long swords or maces tailor made for Sauron.)  In particular, I loved the inclusion of chain mail through CG, though its proportions are cut to the size of the haubergeon–the smaller version of the coat of mail which became popular during the Age…

View original post 1,614 more words

The night I outran my demons

This is a very interesting conversion story. A good reminder of the importance of confession also.

Catholicism Pure & Simple

by Dr John Morrissey at the Catholic Herald

‘I was reminded of that streetlight scene from The Exorcist…’

As a young doctor on a cancer ward, I consoled myself with drink and New Age nonsense. Then one evening I stepped into a chamber of horrors

Looking back over my 29 years as a medic, I think my year at the cancer hospital was the hardest. Every fourth day and weekend without fail, I would cover the intensive care unit for 24 hours as the resident middle-grade doctor. In all my time there, not one patient survived, though not for lack of trying. Not one.

The thing they all had in common was that their bone marrow had been suppressed by cancer-killing chemotherapy and they had then succumbed to overwhelming infection. Admission to intensive care, full resuscitation with intubation, ventilation, IV fluids and powerful cardiac stimulants were all to no…

View original post 1,971 more words

Summer Anime 2015 Review (Part 2/3)

Part two of the anime season reviews at Beneath the Tangles.

Beneath the Tangles

Here’s part 2 of 3 of our summer anime 2015 review!

Baby Steps 2
Baby Steps 2

Annalyn – 8/10

In the Spring anime review, I gave Baby Steps 2 a 7/10. Now that I’ve finished it, I decided to give it an 8/10. I admit, it’s a little difficult to defend the score change. The visuals didn’t get much better. Most of the characters squeak by with minimal, unremarkable development, and very little about the conflict matters to Ei-chan’s life off-court. So what’s changed? This season, Baby Steps convinced me that tennis-related conflict is plenty—partially because the character himself is so absorbed in the sport, his growth as a person is attached to his growth as an athlete. He is introspective, and while he does enjoy and learn from his friends and mentors, I can’t expect the same relationship-oriented themes that are so prevalent in team sports anime. Instead, themes arise in…

View original post 1,804 more words