Why It Works: Not Born to Be a Hero: My Hero Academia and the Road to Greatness

Today I’ve got a fresh My Hero Academia article for you all, largely inspired by the show’s recent provisional license retakes, as well as Mirio and Nighteye’s additions to the story. One of the things that I feel sets MHA apart as a shonen is that in terms of temperament, Midoriya is far removed from the default “shonen protagonist,” who’s generally someone a lot more like Mirio or Yoarashi. Midoriya has to actually work to come off as inspiring, and that plays naturally into My Hero Academia’s framing of heroism itself as a source of inspiration. Anyway, here’s the piece!

Not Born to Be a Hero: My Hero Academia and the Road to Greatness

Why It Works: Let’s Explore the Fundamentals of a Great School Festival Arc!

This week’s Why It Works column is pretty self-explanatory, as I use the convenient approach of My Hero Academia’s school festival arc to talk about why these festivals show up so often in anime, and what they offer to a narrative in a dramatic sense. To someone who’s watched far too much anime like me, school festival arcs are an inherently soothing experience, a comfort zone within the riling experiences of high school. But they serve more of a dramatic purpose than that, and, uh, that’s what this article is about. Here’s my piece!

Let’s Explore the Fundamentals of a Great School Festival Arc!

Why It Works: How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling (Part Two)

Today on Crunchyroll, I conclude my early breakdown of how Eizouken explores the genuine fundamentals of creating stories generally, and producing anime specifically. The show’s progression actually ended up helping me a great deal here – I was already planning on centering much of this half on how essential people like Kanamori are, and then episode four came along and basically served as a direct celebration of her talents. It’s always a joy to write about this show, and I hope you enjoy my piece. Let’s get to it!

How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling (Part Two)

Why It Works: How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling!

I am sure it could not be less surprising that I’m favoring Eizouken in this season’s Why It Works columns, but you only get so many chances to write about shows this good. I’ve still got more Eizouken writing to do today, but I hope you enjoy this piece about how Eizouken reveals the true messiness of constructing a narrative. Here’s the piece!

How Eizouken Embodies the Messy Thrill of Storytelling!

One Foot in Front of the Other: A Year of Death Stranding

At scattered moments during your journeys across the rocks and rivers of Death Stranding, your player character Sam Porter Bridges will mutter little encouragements to himself, or simply scattered half-thoughts. “Sam, Sam, he’s our man,” a slogan uttered with an edge of bitterness, as he was essentially manipulated into this job of carrying endless packages of cargo across a broken America. Sometimes it’s more straightforward motivational exercises, like “one foot in front of the other,” or at one point, “I’ve scaled higher mountains than this.” And sometimes it’s a rare acknowledgment that he actually finds joy in this work – checking in with the companion strapped across his chest, or staring out across a forbidding yet beautiful wasteland and remarking “I always liked the quiet.”

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Why It Works: Let’s Explore the Finer Points of Anime Power-Ups!

I’ve got another fairly breezy Why It Works column for you all this week, though this one certainly plays into a fair number of storytelling and conflict-building fundamentals. When and how characters overcome their previous limitations is actually a pretty important part of shonen narrative design, particularly since audiences have been primed to assume “sweet power-ups” will always be a part of that genre’s narrative bargain. Today let’s highlight a few broader categories of character improvements, as well as what sort of narratives potentially suit them best. Let’s get to it!

Let’s Explore the Finer Points of Anime Power-Ups!

Why It Works: Chihayafuru and the Makings of a Great Tournament Arc

I finally got to write about Chihayafuru for Why It Works this week, which I’m sure you all saw coming the moment season three was announced. Chihayafuru is awesome, its storytelling is satisfying in the sort of nuts-and-bolts craft sense that tends to lend itself to these columns, and I was more than happy to combine the two. Let’s get to it!

Chihayafuru and the Makings of a Great Tournament Arc

Why It Works: The Young Titans and Ailing Empires of Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Today on Why It Works, I dove once more into Legend of the Galactic Heroes, to explore the fascinating contrast of Reinhard von Lohengram and Yang Wen-li. Each of them are rich characters who are simultaneously compelling both as individuals in their own right, and as representatives of their distinct philosophies on shaping human history. Legend of the Galactic Heroes consistently urges us to look beyond the assumptions of our immediate political moment, and I’m always happy to celebrate its far-seeing perspective. Here’s the piece!

The Young Titans and Ailing Empires of Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Why It Works: Chihayafuru is Back! But Where Do Its Heroes Go From Here?

Did you really think I wouldn’t also be rambling about Chihayafuru over on Crunchyroll? Considering it’s easily the platform’s strongest pickup of the season, I expect to be gushing plenty more about Chihayafuru over the course of the fall, and that starts right now. Today I break down the foreshadowing and returning threads of Chihayafuru’s third season, sussing out the finer points of season three’s recent premiere. Let’s get to it!

Chihayafuru is Back! But Where Do Its Heroes Go From Here?

Why It Works: The Brilliance of Hunter x Hunter: Exam Arc and Lateral Thinking

I hope you’re ready for a sturdy craft column this week! With all the promotional hullabaloo of the season premieres finally behind us, today I dove into some meaty storytelling nuts and bolts stuff, centered on one of my favorite shows to write about. I could write about Hunter x Hunter’s intelligence of narrative construction for days, and might actually end up doing that, as long as this article does well enough. Either way, I hope you enjoy the piece!

The Brilliance of Hunter x Hunter: Exam Arc and Lateral Thinking