Lamonya Smith Zora reached for the empty space next to her; she almost forgot her purse was gone. At least she could stretch her legs. She smoothed out her white minidress and stood up, looking out her cell. Her deep brown fingers recoiled from the bars―they were so cold. The dungeon was so quiet. Of course the money hadn’t come from nowhere. Zora should’ve guessed Adrian was doing something for the money, but she never thought he was working for Credos.  Faint footsteps echoed in Zora’s ears. When she saw Adrian, out of breath and darting his eyes everywhere, Zora almost smiled. “Zora ..read more

Anime, the literal term for Japanese cartoons, is experiencing a surge in popularity throughout the world. With the world in shambles, it’s no wonder that people are flocking to fantastical content for escape. But it seems like fantasy is geared toward cis-heterosexual males. Even in fantasy, women can’t escape the clutches of rape culture. In most shogun anime, women are stereotypes rather than fleshed-out human beings; they are often sexualized, abused, and undeveloped. The anime industry panders to fan service—intentional sexualized programming in a work that appeals to the male gaze. The s ..read more

Amina Sirleaf Recently there have been rumors floating around that raise eyebrows for many and for others, including myself, set off alarms. Kohei Horikoshi is the creator and mangaka to Boku no Hero Academia (translated to ‘My Hero Academia’), a popular shonen series that debuted in Shonen Jump July of 2014. The story is set in a world full of superheroes and follows 15 year old Deku as he attends the prestigious UA hero school to realize his dream of becoming number 1 hero in the world. This series is praised all over and popular for a reason, the plot is instantly engaging,the characters ar ..read more

Black women who play video games. We’re out there, regardless of it’s in the Call of duty lobbies, Overwatch competitive games, or just a simple run up of Sims 4. I’m sure everyone knows that, right? Well, you’d be surprised.  It seems like black girls and women have always been seen as an anomaly in any space, and gaming is no different. Time and time again, the internet and society has made it so that we, as black women, feel “othered” in spaces that sound be there for us to relax and have fun.  I think there’s room for a discussion for how exactly we’re treated when coming online ..read more

MUSIC CUE: “Chamber of Reflection” By Mac Demarco  EXT.GRASS ROOFTOP DOJO- DAY A grass roof, with windows from the inside contains a picnic blanket with one person, LULU BELEMOTE. Bobbing to the music, Lulu indulges in a plate of glistening chicken, plump black beans, with a side of glowing avocado. As her springly ringlets ride the sparse wind, she remembers something and furiously digs into her bag.                                &nbs ..read more

Tsundere, Yandere, Bro-Con… the list goes on about what makes the best Waifu trope, but what about our wonderful Husbandos? There are many different types of lovable characters that deserve our attention and I’m not going to shame anyone for their favorites *side-eyes the Loli lovers*. I just want to share why the Bubbly Yet Deadly (BYD) Husbando should be put in the forefront of your mind. With all of these Husbandos, it might even feel like we are the protagonist in a reverse harem. Bubbly Yet Deadly (BYD) speaks for itself. These characters are normally outgoing, fun, goofy, energetic or u ..read more

Flying wistfully through the skies and into our hearts, Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 film Kiki’s Delivery Service has enchanted the child within us all for generations. The filmmaker for years has created a world for which the viewer can escape real life and enter one of magic and simplicity. What is it about this film that has carried over from a fun adventure movie of childhood into the woes of adulthood? The answer lies within the soul of the film.  We meet Kiki as a young girl about to go off on her own to complete her training to become a full fledged witch. She’s eager, tenacious, and rea ..read more

Warning: Spoilers  Devilman Crybaby is an anime that will take you on a rollercoaster ride from the very start. From it’s art and visuals to its storyline. It’s a GOOD show if you are looking for a nice gory show/ When I first watched it, I was only curious, well, Ill tell you curiosity killed the cat. Watching the show was like watching a Greek tragedy. Except I knew no background before I watched. I couldn’t stop either afterwards, from 12am till I finished it at 6:15am.  The story follow our protagonist Akira Fudo who finds out from his best friend who later becomes our antagonist ..read more

Positive black portraiture entered the anime world with the advent of Fuji TV’s anime, “Michiko and Hatchin”. The show was a revolutionary addition to the anime world for its time. Debuting in 2011, the Japanese anime follows the story of Michiko Malandro and her alleged daughter Hana “Hatchin” Morenos.  Michiko is searching for her lost lover,  Hiroshi Morenos, while also running from the law. The show’s mixture of suspense and heartfelt moments make it a stellar anime, but it’s most prominent and defining characteristic is Michiko’s race. Michiko Malandro is a black, female lead—a ..read more

There are a large number of female characters in anime who are often portrayed as either overly emotional or emotionally stoic. Along with that, the ones who are overly emotional are typically the ones who are portrayed as “weak” or at least they are the ones who end up in a position where they have to be saved by another character (typically a man) at some point in the anime; I call this the “damsel in distress” factor. On the other side of that, the females who are stoic are typically the ones who don’t get saved either because they are strong enough on their own to get out of a dangerous si ..read more