Category Archives: Japanese

Secret Mountain Sex Parties

Posted on April 2, 2023 by Nathan

One of the stories mentioned in Sabine Baring-Gould’s Curious Myths of the Middle Ages is that of Tannhäuser and the Venusberg, which is probably best known through Wagner’s opera. I wasn’t that familiar with it, so I looked into it … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Catholicism, Celtic, Christianity, Fairy Tales, German, Greek Mythology, Japanese, Magic, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Norse, Poetry, Religion, Roman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Love That Leviathan

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Nathan

I’d been meaning to discuss Leviathan a little more, which I think was inspired by the name being used for the base of the rebel organization Astrea in Cosmic Star Heroine. Considering all the other references to classic games, I had thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Cartoons, Celtic, Christianity, Comics, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Japanese, Judaism, Language, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Pokémon, Religion, Semitic, Video Games, Welsh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Stay Out of the Deep End

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Nathan

I’m going to guess you want more fish-people, but I’ll admit I’m very bad at predicting what other people want. So let’s just say I want to write more about fish-people. I often go to TV Tropes to see examples … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Australian, Babylonian, Breath of Fire, Cartoons, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Games, Greek Mythology, Health, Humor, Japanese, Language, Magic, Mana/Seiken Densetsu, Mario, Monsters, Mythology, Pacific, Relationships, Sexuality, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sparrowhawk, Shabba Doo, and Shang-Chi

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Nathan

Tales from Earthsea – The directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro, it’s a loose adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series, mostly The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. From what I’ve read, LeGuin didn’t really care for the finished product. … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Cartoons, Chinese, Comics, Families, Frank Black/Black Francis, Japanese, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Prejudice, Relationships, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Ursula K. LeGuin, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jaguar, Jaguar, You Are Shining from Afar

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Nathan

I’m always interested in mythological references in video games I’ve played (and sometimes even ones I haven’t), and the two Chrono games definitely have a fair number of them. There are some SPOILERS for both Chrono games. I’ve seen fans … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Aztec, Christianity, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Food, Greek Mythology, Japanese, Language, Magic, Mana/Seiken Densetsu, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Names, Native American, Religion, Shinto, Technology, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Hammer and the Hood

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Nathan

I started playing Dragon Quest Builders recently, and there’s a place you visit early on that’s full of Hammerhoods, and even called Hammerhood Heights. These are a type of monster originally introduced in DQ5, small impish creatures who, well, wear … Continue reading →

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A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things Lived On

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Nathan

I wrote about Slimes in the Dragon Quest series eleven years ago, and mentioned the fact that they were inspired by Creeping Cruds from Wizardry, but Akira Toriyama drew them as cute. There was also a mention of Slimes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Board Games, Cartoons, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Focus on the Foes, Food, Games, Gender, Japanese, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes I Feel Like I Hurled Meself in Too Deep

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Nathan

I thought I should write something about last month’s free update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, since it did add a fair amount to the game. I also looked up how to do a few other things that I could … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Crossing, Animals, Art, Food, Gender, Japanese, Mythology, Names, Philosophy, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Drainpipes and Dragons

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Nathan

Dragons are a mainstay of fantasy fiction, and of course have appeared in a number of video games. Even Metroid has them, and that series is more science fiction than fantasy. Dragons in the Super Mario universe in particular are … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Biology, Cartoons, Chinese, Final Fantasy, Japanese, Language, Magic, Mario, Metroid, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Science, Semitic, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Nobody Ever Suspects the Butterfly

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Nathan

Picture by Carsten Witte In this post about a Chinese drama, there’s a mention of butterfly demons, and some possibilities as to how this links to mythology. Butterflies are apparently considered manifestations of the soul in Greek, Chinese, and Japanese culture. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Aztec, Chinese, Dragon Quest, Greek Mythology, Japanese, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Native American, Roman, Urban Legends, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments