Christopher Kincaid's Blog, page 27

Seven Samurai (1954)

Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai remains engaging despite being 66 years old. The story follows seven ronin, masterless samurai, as they defend a farming village from a band of starving bandits who want to steal the village’s rice and women. The film outlines the wrangling of the samurai’s pay to the final defense of the village.…

Love and Fortune, a Review

Love and Fortune is a Netflix and TV Tokyo live-action series that focuses on the life of Wako Taira and her love for a 15-year-old high school student. Wako begins the series living with her boyfriend of 4 years. He works as a salaryman who expects Wako to take care of him when he comes…

Ranma 1/2, Does it Hold Up Today?

Ranma 1/2 is an old sit-com style anime from 1989 to 1992. It follows a martial artist named Ranma, his dad, and the family of his fiance Akane. Ranma and his dad fall into different cursed ponds when training in China. When dosed with cold water, Ranma turns into a girl. His dad turns into…

The Fox Brothers and Old Tanuki’s Trick Chapter 6

“Wake up, Mitsu.” Kitsu’s voice cut through the darkness. Sunlight jabbed Mitsu’s eyes, and he groaned. His head ached. “What happened?” he asked. “What does it look like?” Kitsu said. “The humans captured us.” He tapped the irons bars of the cage with one of his tails. “What happened to Father?” Mitsu stumbled to his…

Are Video Game Experiences “Real” Experiences?

Flashes of magical energy engulfed my cohealer, and an explosion rocked the top of the tower. The creature–a disembodied head and hands the size of a house–smacked the warrior holding her in place. I raced to heal his wounds and my own just as another explosion hit us. Where was the other team? I glanced…

A Look at Japan’s Jomon Period

The Jomon Period is the era before writing that extends from the late Pleistocene to 410 BCE. Little is known about the religious and daily life of the earliest Japanese peoples. But they left us with the best-studied and oldest ceramic sequences in the world. Some of the oldest dates to around 15,000 years ago…

Flip-flopping. Aging, and Changing Your Mind

The Internet, and American culture in particular, doesn’t believe people can change their minds. Perhaps it’s because of how public opinions and thoughts are now. Whenever you see a politician change their mind, American news media attack, calling ichi “flip flopper.” You’ll see this to a lesser amount with internet personalities, so-called influencers. I’ve even…

The Fox Brothers and Old Tanuki’s Trick Chapter 5

They traveled until mid-afternoon. Father allowed only a few short rests. By the time the fox brothers saw the village, their excitement had worn off, and exhaustion had taken its place. They stopped just inside the tree line and gazed at their first human village. Despite the sight, Mitsu couldn’t help but yawn. Wooden houses…

Tales of Ise

Tales of Ise is referenced throughout early Japanese literature.  If you hadn’t read it, you won’t catch some of the meaning Sei Shonagon, Lady Nijo, Murasaki Shikibu, and other writers make through their references. Tales of Ise is a collection of 209 short stories and anecdotes written and collected somewhere between 850 CE and 950 CE.…

Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book

Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book offers a look at the Imperial court from around 993 to the end of 1000, when she served as a lady-in-waiting for Empress Teishi. We don’t know Sei Shonagon’s true name. The name passed down to us combines the first character (Sei) of her clan name, Kiyowara, and her role at…