Hello and greetings. Normally, this blog updates pretty regularly. I found a schedule that works for me but recently, that’s been a little hard to do. I promise I’ll get back to my usual schedule but it means going back to my content calendar and I don’t want to do that right now. So in the meantime, I’d like to cover a few things that have happened recently that struck me greatly and may not merit an entire blog post on their own but should be discussed.
The Burning of Notre Dame
I am a Francophile. I have been a Francophile for easily 10 years now. I am also a mostly proud Roman Catholic. I’ve gone on record saying that The Hunchback of Notre Dame may just be my favorite Disney movie. Needless to say, I watched like many did, in utter horror and grief as the Notre Dame Cathedral burned in Paris. I don’t have many moments where I express grief over buildings. Buildings are merely of stone but Notre Dame, this felt personal even though I am an American who has never seen her edifice in real life. I felt like I lost something as I watched the church burn but was inspired by seeing Parisians standing and singing untied as they watched their church burn: the very heart of Paris may have been wounded but what survived was truly inspirational to see. I was at the same time incredibly disappointed by those who quickly made jokes and memes about the fire, truthfully, I haven’t been able to listen to any of the songs from the Disney movie as they come across my phone’s music player as the themes of church, fire and hell are all a little too close to home now. I’m also disappointed at those who have taken this time to take a shot at the Catholic Church and while sure, I cannot say the Church is free of sin, but this is literally too soon. But I cannot quite express to you all, dear reader, how I sat and watched the live stream of the church burning and trembled in impotent, indignant horror wishing, hoping, longing that we could do more though no more could indeed be done. I also cannot express to you the hope I felt seeing that the Rose Windows had not in fact burned. I know Notre Dame will heal, I know Paris will heal, I know we will heal but that doesn’t mean that I did not grieve.
Monkey Punch’s Passing
I’ve mentioned that Lupin III may be one of the most influential series to me in my entire 20 year dedication to anime and manga. So when I found out that the creator of the series, most known by his pen name of Monkey Punch, passed away at the age of 81; I felt like I had lost a grandparent. And while his beloved series will continue to live on much longer than any of us, I can’t help but want to take a moment or two to really give this man the credit he deserves for creating characters that really cemented my love of anime and manga. I have always been enamored by his incredibly distinct style, it was in fact how stylized and interesting that all of the characters in Lupin’s world looked that really got me into manga and anime. The first run of the series was always quite stylish and campy, the humor really did sizzle back then and the adventures though a little silly and at times damn near ridiculous are now long-standing tropes in anime. If you’ve ever heard me lament about how little newer series do for me then it comes down to the fact that from the start of my journey was during the height of quality when it comes to anime coming into the United States. Sorry, kids. It’s why I don’t like your Dekus or your Borts. It’s because I got to have Lupin III as one of my first anime crushes.
I’m aware that as I get older and these mangaka will that I grew up idolizing will die and I too like so many will have to bury my heroes. But for now, I’ve only had to bury one. So rest easy, Kazuhiko Katō-sensei. I am eternally grateful for your creation.
This was something different. If you would like for me to comment on things more topically, please let me know. I’ve been curious about this format for a while and now with the current implosion of my content calendar, I’ve had the chance to truly explore things that are more topical. Thank you for being patient with me; I have some new and exciting posts coming up soon.
Amanda.Actually 