It's Finally Friday: The Horror of Junji Ito

Well, it's that time of the year again; time to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and watch and read all sorts of scary stories. And while one might think to watch some classic horror movies this Halloween, there's also plenty of manga that's guaranteed to scare, and nowhere is that more obvious than the work of Junji Ito. So for this Halloween, I've decided to demonstrate some of his more well-known works; get ready for some seriously disturbing nightmare fuel.

It's Finally Friday: Lovecraftian Mythology in Anime

While not exactly a real-world mythology, the extensive mythos developed by popular science-fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft has had enough influence on popular culture that it's even manged to find its way into anime; as such, it's next on my list of mythologies in anime to look at.

It's Finally Friday: Hindu Mythology in Anime

For the next part of my series taking a look at mythology in anime, I'll be demonstrating some examples of Hindu mythology.

It's Finally Friday: Arthurian Mythology in Anime

Once again continuing my examining of various mythologies in anime, I've decided to show off some instances of Arthurian mythology.

It's Finally Friday: Visual Novel Adaptations

By their very definition, visual novels straddle the line between a novel and a video game; typically with an emphasis on story over gameplay, they present players with a narrative that plays out largely like that of a book, with minimal interaction on the part of the player. As such, these games are very well-suited to be adapted into television shows or movies, and nowhere is that more apparent than in anime. As such, here's a brief list of some anime based on visual novels definitely worth checking out:

It's Finally Friday: Cosplay, Otakon Edition PART 6

Getting near the end of all the awesome cosplay I managed to snap pictures of from Otakon, so there unfortunately will probably not be many more cool examples I can show off.

It's Finally Friday: Chinese Mythology in Anime

Up next on my look at various mythologies in anime, I've decided to examine some examples of Chinese mythology.

It's Finally Friday: Cosplay, Otakon Edition PART 5

It's time for another dose of awesome cosplay I spotted at this year's Otakon.

It's Finally Friday: Norse Mythology in Anime

For the next mythology in anime to take a look at, I've chosen to examine Norse mythology.

It's Finally Friday: Greek Mythology in Anime

Continuing my discussion of mythology in anime, I decided to take a look at some examples of Greek mythology in anime.

It's Finally Friday: Celtic Mythology in Anime

I've always greatly enjoyed learning about characters, settings, and stories from different mythologies throughout human history; I especially enjoy seeing how these mythologies have been adapted in more modern times, particularly in forms of media that I enjoy. As such, I've decided to start taking a brief look at mythologies adapted in anime, starting with Celtic mythology.

It's Finally Friday: Cosplay, Otakon Edition PART 4

 A new year means another annual trip to Otakon, so now I've got a whole new batch of awesome cosplay I saw at the convention to show off:

It's Finally Friday: Digital Devil Adaptations PART 2

Following up a previous post of mine regarding anime and manga adaptations of games in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, I figured I might as well show off some more that might be worth checking out if you're either curious in the franchise or are looking for some particularly interesting fantasy titles involving mythological characters.

It's Finally Friday: Play Me Off, Anime!

A little while back I showed off some anime intros I found particularly entertaining, so I thought it was only appropriate I list some anime outros as well. After all, a catchy song to wrap up an episode can often be what makes the audience want to tune in for the next one.

It's Finally Friday: It's Time to Pull the Trigger

Considering all of the times I've talked about either Studio Gainax in general or some specific works of
theirs, I thought that I should talk about the recently formed Studio Trigger and its close relation to Gainax, as well as some of the studio's work.

It's Finally Friday: Digital Devil Adaptations

It's no secret that I play a lot of video games; and as it turns out, quite a few of those video games have gotten adapted into various anime and manga over the years. Of all the titles based on games I know and love, I have a huge soft-spot for works based on games in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise; although I do enjoy the stories in their original format, I also enjoy seeing how they are adapted into different mediums (albeit with varying degrees of success). So, I figured I'd share my love of the series and list off some adaptations that have been made over the years.

It's Finally Friday: Cosplay, Otakon Edition PART 3

Yep, I've still got some more of these to share; hell, by the end of the Summer, I'll have even more.

It's Finally Friday: Jojo's Bizarre Influences

I've talked about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure before, but I haven't gotten the opportunity to talk about how influential the series has been. Since it was first published back in the 80's, the series has inspired and been referenced in countless works across pretty much all forms of media; to give an idea of this, I've decided to go ahead and list a few examples of such references in types of works. And just as a reminder, this is barely scratching the surface of the things that have referenced the series; I'm not exaggerating when I say that there are probably hundreds of references in official works alone, let alone independent fan content.

It's Finally Friday: Let's Do the Time Warp

The idea of time travel is something that's been used in fiction ever since humans first got a good understanding of time, and anime is no exception to this. I've already brought up two works that heavily involve the subject (Steins;Gate and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), but there's a few others I can definitely recommend; only problem is, because of the nature of the subject, spoilers are more or less inevitable. Because of that, I'll only be listing series where the involvement of time travel either isn't too big of a spoiler or isn't a spoiler at all, and I won't explain when, where, or how time travel is used, as well as whether I'm talking about traveling backwards, forwards, or just observing different points. Even still, read ahead at your own discretion.

It's Finally Friday: Cosplay, Otakon Edition PART 2

Yep, time for some more photos from my various trips to Otakon.