Posts

Showing posts from January, 2023

New Manga Review - Jiangshi X

Image
It's been a hot minute since I tackled one of the new manga in shonen jump but when I saw Jiangshi X pop up in the list I knew I had to give it at least one chapter. I don't talk about this as often on the podcast, but I am a much bigger fan of horror movies than I am of anime and it is from that world that I am most familiar with jiangshi.  For those who don't know, jiangshi are the legendary Chinese hopping vampires. At night they hop around with their arms outstretched searching for victims to drain their precious qi. There is a whole subgenre of jiangshi movies out there, and they're great. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend "Mr. Vampire."  I was a little surprised to see a manga that was so heavily inspired by Chinese mythology. I know this isn't exactly new ground, after all Dragonball is probably the most famous manga of all time and it is inspired by A Journey to the West. Still, it's a break from the recent norm. It's almost eno

You Might Want to Read: An Introduction to Japanese Society by Yoshio Sugimoto

Image
 This is the second in a series of blog posts that I'm doing where I review books that are specifically about Japan and Japanese culture that I think fans of anime might enjoy reading. The first book I reviewed was Pure Invention by Matt Alt . Pure Invention takes a look at Japan through the lens of its exports. Japanese exports are how most people reading this post are likely to have interacted with Japan. Those products were made in historical and cultural contexts that Matt Alt was able to examine only briefly, given the scope of the book. But what if a reader wanted to learn more about Japanese people and Japanese society? Especially Japanese people who aren't closely connected to the dominant Tokyo culture.  Who is Yoshio Sugimoto and What Is An Introduction to Japanese Society Yoshio Sugimoto is a sociologist who taught for 30 years at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He did his undergraduate work at Kyoto University and obtained his PhD in sociology from the

Heroine Addiction: Concubine Walkthrough

Benton Baggins is back with Isekai Sensei-Sama for a new episode of Heroine Addiction! This month the series was a fan recommendation;  Concubine Walkthrough . Follow on  Twitter  and subscribe on  YouTube  so you don't miss new episodes. You can also follow us on  Facebook , or reach us by email at  IsekaiSenseiSama@gmail.com .

You Might Want to Read: Pure Invention by Matt Alt

Image
Origin Story This will be the first in a series of blog posts where I review books that are specifically about Japan and Japanese culture that I think fans of anime might enjoy reading. I found each of these books helpful in getting a deeper understanding of Japan. Relative to the popularity of Japan's products, there are few good books on Japanese society written for an English speaking audience. The problem of finding quality information is complicated by the existence of many hastily written books with a very shallow depth of information that attempt to cash in on the trendiness of Japanese media.  I have been interacting with Japanese media for literally as long as I can remember. I was born in 1988. I grew up watching the pseudo-anime, Thundercats. Thundercats is an American cartoon that was animated by a Japanese studio, and introduced many to anime tropes. Following Thundercats, came The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Power Rangers was based heavily on, and reused footag

Pop Culture Talk Zone: This Podcast is Canon

It's  That Time I Got Reincarnated in the Same World as an Anime Podcaster  history! Pop Culture Talk Zone is back with the original episode. In Isekai Sensei-Sama's first podcast ever, Kermit D. Grog gathers the Weeb Cabal to discuss the concept of canon. Bento Baggins has all the answers, as always. Don't forget to find us on  Twitter ,   Facebook ,  and  YouTube , and subscribe so you don't miss new episodes. We'd love to hear from you, so send us a message or comment. If you have an Isekai question, email Isekai Sensei-Sama at  IsekaiSenseiSama@gmail.com  and your question may be featured in a future episode.