Christianity and Avatar: The Last Airbender

There are certain TV shows that go beyond their age demographic.  I'm not talking about shows that kids watch on TV without their parent's permission, but shows that are loved by different age groups and are considered major cultural phenomenons.  One of these shows is Avatar:The Last Airbender.  A:TLA was an anime styled American cartoon that ran 3 seasons on Nickelodeon, from 2005 to 2008.  The show was a major critical success and was popular with both kids and adults.  That's because this show didn't pander to it's audience like other kids cartoons, but instead showed the character dealing with real, human issues that we can relate with.  Themes of love, trust, betrayal, identity, and forgiveness are just some of the major themes seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender.  All this was wrapped up in a great story that that brought laughs and tears to its audiences.  Something else that was a major point in the series was its openness to various ideas and beliefs.  Though the characters themselves did not practice a specific religion, you can see major religious themes within the show.  Many of these themes parallel with the ideas of the Christian faith.  To help you understand, I'm going to focus on two major characters in the show and how their decisions in the show reflect what we believe as Christians.  The ideas expressed here are shared with many other non-Judea-Christian beliefs, but I want to look at this through a more focused lens (ie, me, a Catholic, which is also Christian).

Here's a little backstory on Avatar's plot.....if you just want to watch the show's intro instead, you can do that..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izc4-vpv6os

....Or you could read this.....In the Avatar world, people are divided into 4 nations: the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, the two Water Tribes and the Air Nomads.  Many people in the world, have control over one of the four elements.  These people are called benders.  There is one person however who has the ability to control all four elements: the Avatar.  In the beginning of the story, we meet Katara and Sokka, a brother and sister, from the Southern Water Tribe, who find Aang, the last living Air Nomad and the new Avatar, trapped in an iceberg.  100 years ago, the Fire Nation began a conquest of the other three nations, and since then, the world has been at war.  After killing the last Avatar, the Fire Nation attack the Air Temples, killing everyone there, since the new Avatar would be an Airbender.  Aang, however, had just run away from his temple after learning that he was the new Avatar.  While flying near the South Pole, he got caught in a storm and was trapped until Katara and Sokka found him.  Now, he has to travel to each of the other three nations to learn waterbending, earthbending and firebending, in the hopes that he can defeat the Fire Lord and end the war.

The funny thing is that after listening to Sunday's First Reading (Peter and Paul meeting the crippled man), I gained a little more insight to the comparisons I wanted to make between Christianity and A:TLA.  Just be warned, there are spoilers ahead, so if you haven't watched the show, stop reading now, watch it and then come back.  Seriously, go watch it. Right now.  Now.....

First, I want to talk about Sokka.  For the majority of the story, Sokka is the comic relief.  He always has a joke or is getting himself into funny situations.  Even the rest of "Team Avatar" see him as their entertainment; not in a demeaning way, but as someone who makes them smile and laugh during their dangerous journey.  Towards the end of the story however, Sokka begins to change.  Though he was not born a bender, he becomes the team's strategist, coming up with plans and schemes to get them out of (and sometimes into) tricky situations.  Thanks to the homily my pastor gave at mass today, I began to see Sokka as Peter from the Bible.  Both didn't ask to join in on this crazy adventure, but when presented with the opportunity, willingly came along.  Also, just like Sokka, Peter grew over time and eventually became the leader for the Catholic Church; the rock that Christ built His Church upon.  The same happened to Sokka.  In the A:TLA spinoff series, The Legend of Korra, Sokka became a respected leader in the United Republic of Nations, even getting his own statue in front of the Water Tribe Embassy building in Republic City (We think).  Both show that one born of humble beginnings can be called to do great things if one believes.  God has plans for all of us, and though we may not always know or understand those plans, He can put us on a path to a greater destiny we could ever imagine.

Now, I want to talk about Zuko, who is probably one of the best written characters in the entire show (and that's saying something, since the writing for all the characters is fantastic).  In the first season, Prince Zuko is the main antagonist.  Banished from his homeland, he searches for the Avatar as punishment for his disobedience.  After finding Aang in the South Pole, he begins to chase him, Sokka and Katara as they journey to the North Pole.  In the second season, Zuko is betrayed by his homeland and travels the Earth Kingdom as an outlaw, rediscovering himself in the process and letting go of the anger that had been growing in his heart.  In the third season, Zuko briefly returns to the Fire Nation as its prince, but leaves in order to join Aang and teach him firebending.  Going back to Sunday's reading, to me, Zuko is the Paul of the Avatar universe.  When we first meet him, he is persecuting Jews, in order to gain favor with the Sanhedrin, but after an amazing conversion experience, he joins with Peter and the other Apostles to share the word of Christ.  Both go through amazing changes, discovering truth and remaking their lives in a way that serves others.

Though this is not a Paul related experience, Zuko has one of the most beautiful, Christ-like moments of the entire show.  After abandoning his Uncle Iroh, who has been traveling with him since season one, Zuko once again attempts to capture Aang at the end of season two.  Zuko is then welcomed back as Prince, while Iroh, who helped the Avatar, becomes a prisoner of the Fire Nation. Though both escape the Fire Nation partway through the third season, Zuko does not see Iroh again until the series finale.  Upon seeing his uncle, Zuko tells Iroh about how sorry he is, and begs for his forgiveness, to which Iroh replies with a hug, explaining that he was never mad at Zuko, but afraid that he had lost his way, but now is happy that Zuko found his way back.

Seriously, this scene is a tearjerker, like I just rewatched it, and am now in tears.  If you want have feels as well, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q1dRSh8Idk

Though Iroh is not God (but he's still pretty freaking awesome!), this scene parallels to the power of God's love and forgiveness.  Just as Iroh was sad that Zuko lost his way, God is sad when we lose our way, and drift away from Him.  However, when we finally return to God, He is ready to accept us with open arms, because He will always love us.  Reminds you of a certain parable about a son who leaves his father, but returns, doesn't it?  To me, this is what Confession feels like.  For anyone who hasn't experieced Confession, it's when Catholics go to their priest, who is standing in the place of God, and confessing their sins, asking God's forgiveness (It's probably a bit more complicated then that, but I wanted to make it as simple as possible).  During Confession, God is giving us a hug and telling us how happy He is that we have returned to Him.  It can be difficult to return to God, believing that He won't love us anymore, but again, just like Iroh, God will always love us, and is always waiting for us to find Him again.

There are a lot of other great messages in A:TLA, but I decided to focus on what I learned from Sokka and Zuko, because, to me, they have the largest amount of character development out of everyone in the entire series.  I highly suggest you watch this show, whether you are young or old!  Avatar is a great series that brings together fun, action and morals to create probably one of the best written children's series of all time.  It's a show that teaches young people about things that they might face in the future, but presents it in a fun and exciting way!  So go check it out!  I promise you won't regret it.  After you're done with that, you can check out The Legend of Korra, which just started its 3rd season!

I always knew that I wanted to write a blog post about this show, and after some reflection, I was glad that God put these ideas in my mind.  I'm always amazed where God will reveal Himself.  Sometimes, it's a kid's show, or a song, or even a single moment in the day.  It's important to always look for God in everything we do, because you never know how He will try to reach you.

Peace and Love

Exercising Your Muscles and Your Faith

Every summer, I make a promise to myself to try and get in shape.  It hasn't always worked out.  I'm usually pretty consistent for the first couple weeks, then get bored or tired and my routine becomes a "I'll do it if I feel like it or I have time" type of workout.  This summer will be different.  I hope.  I have a plan, a good workout routine, and I'm trying to mix it up a bit by doing more outdoor activities.  This is all in the hopes that I can get fit before the end of summer.  I'm not in terrible shape right now, but I know that I can improve.

Along with trying to get in shape, I'm also attempting to improve my prayer life as well.  I'm starting a new position at a church here in Bellingham in the beginning of August, and I want to use this summer to grow closer to God, so that He can lead me better this year.  I hope to do more reading, spend more time in prayer, and cleanse out my soul (it definitely needs a good scrubbing).

In the past week that I've started these routines, I've noticed some parallels between strengthening my body and my faith.  The first is that each one takes time.  If it were up to me, I would work out for 5 days, and be totally ripped.  It doesn't work like that though.  It will probably take me the entire summer just to see a little improvement, and its going to require a lot of hard work.  Again, if it were up to me, I would go to Adoration once this summer and God would call to me like he did for Noah or Moses, and tell me exactly what He wants me to do.  And again, it doesn't work like that.  There is no way that I can reach disciplehood in one week, it will probably take me the entire summer just to be able to concentrate on Christ during an hour of adoration (knowing me, it will probably take another 3 months after that).  In both cases, it's important to start small.  I'm not going to start running marathons right now, but putting in a good hour of exercise or prayer/reading is a great start.  Right now, I'm doing about 45 minutes of exercise, and not nearly as much for my prayer life.  I want that to change, but again, I can't hit in the majors before working through the minors first.  

So, I can't have the perfect body or reach Mother Theresa status  in a week.  How will I do it?  Well, follow Mad-Eye Moody's advice "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"  I'm going to have to work constantly at prayer and exercise.  Last week, I only worked out on Monday and Thursday, and there's nothing wrong wit that, but if I'm really serious about getting in shape, I'll need to do more.  This has to be a 7 day commitment.  Same with prayer.  I'm terrible at forgetting to pray.  There are some nights where I am just falling asleep and as I'm about to drift off to slumberland I think, Oh wait, I didn't pray today or Oh no, I didn't thank God for this or that.  That isn't going to help me become closer to God.  I need to constantly have God at the forefront of my mind.  That has always been a problem with me.  He should be the first person that I think about in the morning and the last person I thank at night.  I have friends who set up prayer alarms, or adjust their work schedules so they can attend daily mass.  That is that kind of commitment that I want to have some day.  I'll be working in a church soon, and could probably adjust my schedule so that I can spend some time with Jesus, but I want to start now, so the foundation is already there when I seriously begin to increase my faith.

Something else that is important for prayer and fitness is mixing up your routine.  Right now, I'm focusing on my core and upper body on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and making Tuesdays and Thursdays my leg days.  I could probably just spend the entire summer working on core and upper body, but that wouldn't help me.  For starters, it would probably get really boring and I wouldn't want to exercise anymore if I didn't make the exercises fun.  Second, you need variety when working out.  You can't just focus on one particular set of muscles because it doesn't help you grow.  Same as in prayer.  I could probably just do one prayer in the morning and one at night, but would that really help me?  Wouldn't it be better if I mixed up my routine?  What if I did a rosary once a week or tried to reach a chapter from a spiritual book every few days?  Don't you think that would be more beneficial to me then 2 daily prayers?  There isn't anything wrong with daily prayers; sometimes it's all that people have time for.  Unfortunately, I have a lot of time on my hands, so it isn't an excuse.  As of now, I don't have a set schedule yet for my prayer life, but I hope to once I really get into high gear with my prayer and exercise.

The final parallel that I want to talk about is fasting.  Fasting, in my opinion is an important part of exercise and spiritual growth.  I don't mean fasting as you should stop eating food so that you can lose weight, because that is unhealthy.  I mean fasting from unhealthy foods, which I admit I consume a lot.  On an average night, I could probably drink 1-2 cans of soda, and 3-4 on a Friday or Saturday night.  That isn't going to help me lose weight, and if I were really serious about my health, I would stop (Honestly, friends have been telling me that I should stop drinking Mt. Dew for years, but I don't listen to them).  I also need to fast to improve my spiritual life.  I'm online or reading "fun" books a lot more than I am praying or reading spiritual literature.  I could probably cut out 50% of my Internet time and use that time to pray.  If I did that, I could probably reach Peter level discipleship in a matter of weeks (but probably not).  I don't want to starve myself from these things, but I need to realize how they will affect me in the long run and how I need to adjust myself to live in a way that will make me stronger; physically and spiritually.

Those are my two major goals for the summer; grow closer to God, and live a healthier lifestyle.  Neither will be easy to achieve, but I know I can do it.  Here's why; I know that they will greatly improve my life.  There are amazing benefits to praying more and exercising.  Not just a better figure or knowing more about the Church, but I believe that these things make you a better person.  People who exercise tend to be happier, and the same is for people who are closer to God.  I'm not going to make any promises for this summer, but this is something I really wish to achieve, and it is 3 years in the making.  Now is my chance, and it all starts with the first step.

Peace and Love

Don't Be Stupid

Whenever I am on a long bus ride or need to zone out from the world for a bit, I usually put on my headphones and listen to a podcast.  I honestly am so glad that I've discovered podcasts  a couple years ago, because it gives me some time to myself without thinking about what is going on around me.  I just have to listen to the people talking in my ears and enjoy what they're saying.  One of my favorite podcasts is The Catholic Guy Podcast (TCGP).  It's a bunch of clips from The Catholic Guy Show on the Sirius XM's Catholic Channel.  It's hosted by a guy named Lino Rulli, who is a Catholic Badass.  He talks with guests, cracks jokes with his co-hosts and brings together faith, learning and modern day life in a beautiful way.  He's kinda like the Howard Stern of Catholic radio and I totally recommend you check him out.

Currently, I'm working my way through TCGP where Lino was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday.  One of his co-hosts for the day was a priest named Fr. Tony Ricard, who is a priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.  The main topic that they talked about was a phrase that Fr. Tony's mother taught him, and that he's shared with hundred's of people around the world; Don't Be Stupid.

What?

That's what I thought to myself when I heard him say that phrase.  Fr. Tony explained though.  He said that when he left home for college, his mother told him two things; "Remember who you came from" and "Don't be stupid."  Now, the answer to the first phrase is God, remember you came from God.  The second part, according to Fr. Tony, means don't do something that you know is wrong.

As I began to think about that phrase a bit more, it made sense.  If someone does something that is wrong, but they don't know any better, they are dumb, according to Fr. Tony, but if you do something wrong and you know it is wrong, but you do it anyway, you are stupid.

So, don't be stupid.

I had to laugh at this because I never thought of it like that.  It's such a simply phrase, but there is so much meaning behind it.  As children of God, we are called to holiness by Him.  We are called to set a certain standard for ourselves and try to live up to that standard everyday of our lives.  When we don't live up to that standard, it usually isn't because we are dumb, it is because we are stupid.

This is an issue for me, because there will be times where I will have complete knowledge of what I'm doing and know that it is wrong, but I go ahead and do it anyway.  Why?  Because we are weak and we are stupid.  We put ourselves into situations where we will end up doing something stupid, and then of course we end up doing it.  It's like in Rebel Without A Cause, where the teens try to see how close to the edge of the cliff they could drive their cars before stopping; unless you stop early, there is no going back and there's a good chance you'll end up going over the edge.

That was pretty stupid.

Now, as I said, I get into a lot of stupid situations, but how do I stop myself from getting into these situations?  It isn't like I've tried.  Going back to Rebel, its like I want to stop the car, but my brakes won't work, so I end up rolling over the cliff anyway.  I don't want to be stupid, and I bet that there are a lot of other people who don't want to be stupid either.  Unfortunately, the only answer that Fr. Tony has is......... you guess it, DON'T BE STUPID.

If you know something is wrong, then don't even put yourself in that situation.  Don't even go to the cliff that night.  Try to avoid it altogether.  Most importantly, turn everything to God.  Don't just think about God as you're going over the cliff, think about him as your starting the race.  He is the emergency brake that will save your life.

The main point of this post is that I've failed, and you probably have too at one point or another.  That doesn't mean that God will turn His back on us.  He loves us, and wants to help us not be stupid.  We came from Him and just like any good parent, God will continue to teach us right from wrong.  He is the only way. So stick with God and don't be stupid.

If you'd like to learn more about Fr. Tony or check out some of his awesome merch, see this link here!  http://www.fathertony.com/

Peace and Love

CB Anime: Summer Wars

Ok, I know that my last anime review of Sailor Moon was a little harsh, so I decided to talk about something a little different: an anime movie.  Today, I'll be reviewing the 2009 film Summer Wars.

Summer Wars was directed by Mamoru Hosoda and found widespread critical acclaim both in Japan and the United States.  You may know Hosoda as the director of The Digimon Movie back in 2000.  I didn't realize this until researching Summer Wars and rewatching the Nostalgia Critic's review of The Digimon Movie (the review is pretty funny, so if you love Digimon, watch it, or even if you didn't, still watch it:http://youtu.be/wr7ikH9YR5w).

The story is about a boy named Kenji Koiso, who accepts an offer by his crush, Kuonji, to attend her grandmother's 90th birthday in their family home in the country.  However, once he gets there, he discovers that he has to play the role of Kuonji's fiance.  Hesitant at first, Kenji decides to go along with the charade, even after meeting Kuonji's large, wacky extended family.

This movie also centers around a digital world called OZ, where basically everything in the online and real world take place.  The same night that Kenji arrives at the Jinnouchi residence, he gets a cryptic text message.  Being a brilliant mathematician, he solves the message, only to discover that a rogue avatar called Love Machine used the information to hack OZ (or so it would seem).  Love Machine takes over OZ and starts eating up avatars while causing worldwide catastrophes and panic.

Overall, Summer Wars has a beautiful story, and weaves themes of love, family and acceptance into this wacky science fiction family drama movie.  While the the main story is happening in OZ, there are smaller, but essential stories occurring in the real world as well.  One I particularly enjoy that one of Kuonji's aunts is watching her son play in a baseball tournament during the entire movie and is pretty much oblivious to everything that is happening around them because she is so focused on the games.  The story isn't overly romantic or cheesy, choosing to focus more on the family than on the budding relationship between Kenji and Kuonji.  It's so simply, yet conveys a lot of emotion, and I believe that it is also due to some of the other major draws of the movie.

The animation and art for example.  I hadn't seen The Digimon Movie for a while, so I had forgotten what I had originally thought of the artistic style: light and plain.  Seriously, even when Greymon and Parrotmon are fighting in the middle of the night, somehow, everything seems so bright.  It seems like Hosodo is not a fan of shadows, because they play a small part in his style.  Also, most of the characters don't haven any defining features.  Everyone just looks normal, I guess is the best way to put it.  So while I was watching Summer Wars, I felt like I was watching an older movie.  Now with all the technology animators use for the films and shows, there's a certain level of quality that is expected today.  Not with Summer Wars.  When you watching the events happening in the real world, it looks so normal.  Even with all the crazy shenanigans, everything you see happening could totally happen if one had the right equipment.

That is just half the animation.  The online world of OZ shows the real artisitic draw of this movie.  If you've seen the first episode of Sword Art Online, when Kirito is first logging into SAO, imagine a world built around the style of that login process.  Everything is OZ is bright and crisp, just as you expect the digital world to be.  The various avatars are more defined and stand out then their human counterparts.  Also, the various fighting and destruction scenes flow well and look so amazingly cool.  The way that things are broken apart and redesigned is phenomenal.  I imagine that this was done to show a clear contrast between the real and digital world, and it totally works.

Then there are the characters.  Now, normally there are a few anime voices who don't quite match up with their character, but Summer Wars did a perfect job with each of the voices.  Some of the voices you may recognize from other great animes and tv shows, but all of them did a great job with embodying the emotions of their characters.  Even the kid's voices were spot on.  This story is both heart wrenching and hilarious, and everyone brought their A game to every scene in this film.

The thing that I love the most about this movie, is that it is a family movie.  Seriously.  I totally 100% think that a whole family could sit down and watch this movie together.  Hosoda does a great job at creating movies that everyone can watch.  The best thing is that everyone gets something different out of this movie.  Some could watch it for its great action scenes and others could watch it for its emotional resonance.  Even for religious families, I think that this would make a great movie night for everyone.  Of course, it is anime, so you can make that decision for yourself, but I am totally ready to recommend this movie to my family back home as something we could watch together.  That's why I wanted to review this anime, because it has something for everyone.  It's not just for teens or adults.  Movies by directors like  Hosoda and Hayao Miyazaki are a lot of fun for everyone and I hope that more parents will recognize the beauty and value in anime and not see it as sinful media or whatever.

Just remember that you have the power to pick and choose your animes.  Some may appeal to you and others may not.  However, Summer Wars is one that I believe everyone can enjoy and I hope it will help viewers see the value of love and family.

Peace and Love

Father's Day

So, as this blog is called the Catholic Badass blog, I should be talking more about badass things and people, and in my mind, there is nothing more badass than fathers.  (Mothers are great too, but this is Father's Day, so shut up).  I know not everyone would share that opinion based on their childhood or even their lives right now.  Too many of my friends have parents who are divorced, have bad relations with their fathers, or never even see their fathers anymore.  That is really depressing to me, because the world needs good fathers, and Catholic men should be discerning whether or not they want to take up that responsibility of fatherhood.

Growing up in the Catholic Church, I heard a lot about discernment.  Now, what comes to most people's minds when they think of discernment is discerning whether or not they want to join the priesthood or religious life.  That was my way of thinking for a long time too, and I feel like that idea is shared by a lot of other young Catholics too.  As young men in the Church, we are asked over and over again (well, at least I am) to discern the priesthood.  It almost feels like there is a lack of priests in the Catholic Church, so they are pushing more young men to discern, so that we can have priests in the future.  That is totally false.  Last year, a couple of my friends and I where having a discussion with our pastor about discernment and calls to the priesthood, and he said that their isn't a problem with numbers, but with distribution.  It's a problem with spreading the love.  There are some communities where a priest has to perform mass at three different parishes, or guest priests consistently need to be called to fill the vacancies.

I'm not saying that guys should stop discerning the religious life, but don't think that by not choosing the priesthood that the U.S. is going to run out of priests.

It won't, don't worry.

There are men (and women) all over the country discerning God's call, just like you, and some of them may be called to the religious life and others may not.  What's important is to constantly listen to God's call, because then you will truly know, and that's important, because again, what this world needs just as much as good priests is good fathers.  There are a lot of kids who don't have a father or other positive male role model in their life to guide them.  Even for the kids whose fathers are present in their lives, they are not always the best role models or provide the support that a child needs.

I lucked out, because I have an amazing father who loves me and has supported me since I was born.  That doesn't mean that he's ever gotten mad or angry at me, and that's ok, because it shows that he wants the best for me.  I've made some big life choices in the past week, and one thing that I was worried about was not having my parent's support in these decisions.  I had talked with both my parents over the phone, and though it wasn't exactly what they had in mind for my future, they understood my decisions.  I was still a little uneasy, and when we had some face to face time on Saturday, we talked more, and they explained how they were worried, but they would always support me.  That's all I needed.  Just knowing that my father and mother would support me and believed in my decisions was all I needed.  If a parent can give that to their child, it will improve that child's outlook on life so much more than any sort of material possessions.

So, the next time that someone asks you to discern, remember that you're not just discerning the priesthood or religious life, you're also discerning fatherhood (or motherhood).  Like I said, the world needs good fathers just as much as it needs good priests.  Even priests are encouraged to date during their first year or two in seminary, so that they know for certain what path God is leading them towards.  Of course, both fatherhood and priesthood are wonderful paths.  Just know that God has a plan for you, and one way or the other, He will use you to bring others closer to Christ.

Peace and Love and Happy Father's Day

CB Anime Review....Just Start Reading It

I did it.  I can't believe that I am admitting it, but I did it.  I'm not proud, but I thought that I've waited all this time to do, so why not.  I took a chance, jumped in, and didn't look back.

I watched an episode of Sailor Moon.

What did you think I was talking about something else?  It says in the title "CB Anime Review".  What did you think I was talking about?

But yes, its true, I watched my first episode of Sailor Moon 2 days ago. Since then, I've been able to get through 2 more episodes in 2 days, which leads to a grand total of 4 episodes.  Now, this might be a little too early for me to try and review it, since I've barely seen any of the anime, but I feel like I get the premise enough that I can make some comments on it.

For those who don't know, Sailor Moon is an anime that aired in Japan in 1992 and in the US in 1995.  There were 5 seasons of the show; around 200 episodes total, as well as a couple movies.  The story is about a 14 year old girl named Usagi, who is chosen to become a "Sailor Scout" and takes on the identity of "Sailor Moon."  As Sailor Moon, she fights off the forces of evil from the Dark Kingdom who want to use humans to gather energy in various ways.  Pretty straightforward right?  Exactly, so far the plot follows the same format in every single episode:  Usagi is having some sort of personal issue, her issue is somehow related to the Dark Kingdom's plot, she fights them using her tiara, the monster dies, and her problems go away.  Literally, it is the most uncomplicated thing I have ever seen.  Just like other kids shows like Power Rangers or Pokemon, the same thing happens over and over again!  I don't know if its like a special formula for getting kids hooked on shows, but obviously it works, because Sailor Moon is extremely popular.

Sailor Moon is what anime fans call a "Magical Girl" anime. It's pretty much how it sounds.  A girl, or group of girls, somehow gain magical powers and use it to fight evil, or fix their social lives or whatever.  There is usually some sort of cute animal the accompanies them, offering advice or just being cute.  I've seen other Magical Girl animes before Sailor Moon.  When I was a kid, I really enjoyed the English dub of Cardcaptor Sakura (Don't judge, on the dub thing, not the show), then later Tokyo Mew Mew.  Last year, my friend showed me this anime called Madoka Magica(THIS ISN'T LIKE ANY OTHER LITTLE GIRL MAGIC ANIME YOU'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE!  YOU HAVE TO PREPARE YOURSELF, DON'T TAKE IT LIGHTLY!!!!!!  YOU'VE BEEN WARNED).  So, I'm not completely oblivious to the Magical Girl genre.  Sailor Moon was just a bit before my time.  I'd heard about it of course, through friends and ads for dolls and stuff, but I never felt like watching it.  However, with the upcoming release of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, I feel like I should at least give it a try.

My first big mistake was watching the English dub.  I'd heard the English theme song before, and thought it sounded good, so why not try the English show dub?

It was a mistake.

The voice acting overall wasn't too bad......except for that one character: Naru, or Molly in the English Dub.  They give her the strongest, most ear wrenching Boston accent every.  It's sooooooooo ridiculous.  You kind of get used to it over time, but it's still pretty cringe worthy.  So I switched over to the English sub, and it was a bit better.  No annoying accents or anything, but with those out of the way, I could focus on everything else.

For it's time, the drawing isn't too bad.  It's no Cowboy Bebop, but it was a big tv show, so they probably didn't have as much time to make everything look perfect.  The background though is what annoyed me the most.  It looks like a 10 year old's watercolor painting.  Still this is the first season and it was 1992, so maybe things will improve and I can talk about the progress of the show.

Now for the characters.  I know that there are other Sailor Scouts, but they haven't appeared yet, so I'm just going to talk about the main girl, Usagi.  The show advertises her as a "crybaby" but WOW, she is literally a crybaby!  Even though she has these cool powers, she doesn't really do anything but run away and cry.  Besides her magical tiara, crying is her only superpower.  In the other shows that I mentioned, the magical girls have a little backbone and try to take their problems on headfirst.  That's what I liked about them.  They wouldn't go into an all out brawl, but at least they tried.  So far, Sailor Moon can't do anything but run away until this random guy called Tuxedo Mask shows up and gives her some words of encouragement.

Literally, that's all he does.  He shows us, throws a rose to the floor, says "You can do it" to Sailor Moon, and leaves.  (BTW This is the main romance of the show)

Eventually Sailor Moon remembers she has a magical tiara, throws it and beats the bad guy and everything goes back to the way it was.

So, here's the thing.  I've been bashing on Sailor Moon for a bit, but here's what I really think of it; it's really dumb.  It's not bad, it's just dumb.  There's a difference.  There are really bad animes out there, ones that no one wants to talk about (Every Beyblade season after season 1).  Then there are dumb animes; animes that are simple, and campy, but everyone loves the heck out of.  Sailor Moon is a dumb one.  I know there is a lot of nostalgia for this show and I can understand that, I feel the same way about Digimon.  This was a part of people's childhood, and seeing this show reminds them of when we were young, and happy and didn't have think about life or anything......

*Goes and sits in a corner to cry for 10 minutes*

  Finally, it's a kids show, meant for kids.  Of course its not going to be that intellectually stimulating, or what 10 year old would watch it.

So, I just wanted to get this all out there.  If you're a Sailor Moon fan, please remember that I've only seen 4 episodes of the show, and I hadn't seen it before 2014.  Even with the new series, I'm curious to see how they will try to satisfy their old fanbase and get new fans of the show.  So, I'll try to keep watching for a bit, and if things change, I'll tell you.  If not, well, I'm sorry, it's just not my cup of sake.
Though I will admit, that theme song is extremely catchy....Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight....

Christian Music/Hillsong Audio Blog

I decided to try and make an audio blog because I'm lazy and wanted to see what it would be like.  Let me know what you think, and if you don't want me to do this ever again, I understand.  That or I start a video blog :)

On The Screen

As a young adult in America, if I want a fair and balanced representation of a news story, I turn to the Colbert Report or Daily Show.  Seriously.  That is how I get my news most of the time, through comedy shows.  In one of my Communications classes, we've been studying Rhetoric, and one week, we looked at satire in the Daily Show, and how people tend to view it as news as much as they view it as entertainment.  It's a really interesting read, and if you want to learn more, check out the book "The Daily Show and Rhetoric" by Trischa Goodnow.

Reading this article made me think about the on air personalities of celebrities.  When watching shows like Colbert Report or the Daily Show, its easy to tell that the host or casts of characters, are exactly that; characters.  The way they act on TV is probably not exactly how they are in real life.  Colbert's character can be compared to Bill O'Reilly from the O'Rielly Factor.  Jon Stewart plays the straight man who is surrounded by a group of "reporters" who stretch the truth on situations or make certain issues larger in scope then they actually are.  The point is that these people are characters.  I've seen Colbert in interviews where he is not "Colbert Report" Stephen Colbert, but just everyday Stephen Colbert.  He's an actor, and his on air persona is just a role.  We know this because their satire of issues make it pretty obvious that they don't always mean what they say; they are just doing it because it is relevant and it is funny.

Then there are other TV personalities, who I just can't tell if they are serious or not, mainly Bill Maher.  First, I should point out that Maher is an atheist, and there's nothing wrong with that.  He's allowed to believe-or not believe- in what he thinks is right.  God gave us free will, and if people want to use that free will to not believe in Him, ok.  The only problem that I really have with him is that I can't tell if Maher is serious or not.  I've watched a bunch of his stuff, and granted, a lot of it is funny, but I can't tell if he is a satirist like Stewart, or everything that he believes everything that is said on his show.  If you've watched his show, you know that he wears his atheism on his sleeve.  Maher claims that he doesn't like talking about atheism, but he brings people onto his show to discuss religion and Christianity quite a bit.  He even has a movie about religion, where he talks to people of different faiths and tries to trip them up and make them sound stupid or crazy.

My question is then, Is Bill like this in real life or does he have an exaggerated personal like Stewart and Colbert?  I've read interviews with people who go onto Bill's show and they make it sound like he seems like a decent guy.  He isn't constantly trying to tell people that religion is stupid or trying to get people to convert; he just wants to entertain his audience.  Now, Maher probably has more in common with his on-air persona than Colbert or Stewart, but we shouldn't take what we see him say or do as who is as a person.  That's what I've gained from thinking about this; we shouldn't be judging people based on how they appear on TV.  I mean, back when Colbert Report started, people were confused why this Conservative talk show host was on a comedy channel instead of Fox News.  They didn't understand his shtick back in 2005, but now people know that the Colbert we see on TV is a character created by the real Stephen Colbert.

So, though it might be easy to hate people we see on TV, because they do or say something that we don't like, its important to take a step back and remember that we don't know that person.  They might actually be a kind and considerate person in real life.  Jesus taught us not to judge least we be judged, and that goes for people in media as well.  Bill does have some funny stuff to say, and his guests are intelligent, well informed people.  It's ok to disagree with people, but it's also important to see things from their perspective and take it as an opportunity to become more informed about the issue.  That way, intelligent conversations can occur, rather than being reduced to name calling and hate speech, which doesn't solve anything.

So, I'll continue to take my comedy new with a grain of salt, and though I'll probably never get to meet Colbert, Maher or Stewart, I'll still listen to their perspective and see how I can use it to improve my understanding of my faith and life.