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Imagine a future where everyone has psychokinesis, the power to manipulate the physical using the mind alone. What kind of people would we become? How would a society run itself? What would be their greatest fears? The anime Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) answers these questions in a terrifying series about such a utopia.

Shin Sekai Yori is based on the novel under the same name by Yusuke Kishi. The anime tells the story in three distinctive parts in the life of Saki, the female protagonist. The first part introduces Saki and her friends as pre-teens, when they come across their ancient society’s darkest ... secrets by accident. The second part takes place in their high school years, when one is sentenced to death and two others run away. The third part tells the tale of the battle between humans and monster rats when Saki is an adult. Each part of this epic utopian tale reveals more of the future Japanese society accelerated a thousand years from now, where everyone has developed god-like powers through psychokinesis.

As far as originality is concerned, Shin Sekai Yori continues to tell a similar theme among many utopian pieces of literature. Common themes in many utopian literatures include a person who questions the society’s rules, what the society’s authority does to protect their utopia, and ultimately what is resolved in order to maintain superiority over everyone else. Shin Sekai Yori touches on all of these themes while also bringing the element of referring to our present day as an ancient violent civilization that destroyed itself. Although the utopia that is set in this series is a lot smaller and appears more “feudal” than anything else, history repeats itself as the world faces the threat of humanity on humanity once again.

Needless to say, Shin Sekai Yori also reveals a subliminal message on human nature itself with very familiar tones from other utopian storylines. The anime, for example, covers the very fears that drive the society to ensure their stability. Likewise, the very stability is shaken by an external power that abuses this fear to start a revolution, as was the case of the monster rats in the third arc of this anime. And yet, the conclusion of this tale leaves an audience (particularly me) with a sense of hope, yet dissatisfaction that anything was truly resolved by making a utopia in the first place. This is, once again, a very common theme in utopian art and literature.

Shin Sekai Yori tells a very similar utopian story with a Japanese (specifically anime, in this case) perspective. It emphasizes the fears of a society to drive stability and ultimately has it torn down by the very rules they had created over their people. It leaves audiences to question whether our society alone is better or worse in today’s context. And above all, it tells the story with a very haunting musical score. That in and of itself probably kept me watching this series each week as it came out!

It’s very rare to find a great show among animated shorts. Many of them produce situational one-shots with the same characters in the same setting. While some of them do have a serial timeline, shorts often lack the details of storytelling. The short series Encouragement of Climb (Yama no Susume) counters these claims by creating situations chronologically with wonderful progression and development for its protagonists.

Encouragement of Climb follows two high school girls and their adventures in hiking to mountain summits across Japan. Aoi, the scared and unsure of the two, learns to overcome her anxieties while being accompanied by Hinata, the tomboyish enthusiastic one who ... appears to have some experience in hiking. With each episode, audiences learn a little tidbit on activities and ethics in camping and hiking as they watch the girls learn to hike together.

The visuals for this anime consist of more simple drawings with “watercolor” effects, faded coloring that’s not nearly as bright or vivid as most anime. I personally like this style because it does not distract the audience from appearances and fan service and forces them to focus mainly on the situation the characters are in. Visuals for animations and films like this one accompany the story rather than make it the main reason people watch it. I certainly love the characters this way for who they are, rather than how they look.

One thing I did enjoy about this series is the reality displayed when one goes on a hike in the mountains. Being somewhat of a hiker myself, I have learned that not all mountain trails are steep, scary, or even arduous, as Aoi originally thinks when it comes to climbing mountains or hills. In fact, their first trail blaze was on a neighboring hill that took them less than a day to reach the summit! The trials Aoi and Hinata face are not only literal in climbing mountains, but figurative in climbing our lives’ scariest moments. All progress in life is a hurdle that many of us face with fear and anxiety, as Aoi had done; but with the help of good friends and a little encouragement from within, we can climb our way to the top.

Encouragement of Climb is a beautiful short series, not only for its story and characters, but it also showed me that I can climb the “mountains” in my life.

Ever heard of the Japanese champion Oda Nobunaga, who united Japan during a time of civil war long before the United States was even a country? No, I’m not referring to him, and neither is this TV series.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna (Oda Nobuna no Yabou) is an anime inspired by the manga of the same title by Mikage Kasuga. Dare I say, it’s listed in the historical genre, but truly nothing is historical about it other than all the namesakes of the characters involved are real men who fought in the civil war. Did I say “men?” I’m sorry. I totally forgot this is ... Oda Nobuna we’re talking about.

The series takes place when a teenage boy from the present day gets stuck in an alternate (and past) universe when Japan was in a civil war during what we know of as the 16th century; only this time, both men AND women were allowed to rule as feudal lords and military personnel. In this mess of literally gender-bending history, the boy known only to his fellow comrades as Saru (literally “monkey”) meets a rather promiscuous Oda Nobuna(ga?), a lower Japanese noble who desires to unite Japan and extend its diplomacy to the coming European nations. Together with her clansmen and retainers, Oda Nobuna and Saru plan to conquer Japan with the least amount of bloodshed while having a typical anime romance sequence.

Overall, nothing is terribly wrong with the series, considering it obviously plays to an audience of the typical male otaku who enjoy seeing women playing sexual warrior roles. However, I can’t help but wonder why anyone would decide to write about a gender-bending of a truly historical figure like Oda Nobunaga. That has the same effect as if an American novelist decided to say Abraham Lincoln doubled as a vampire hunter as well as President of the United States (oh wait, that’s already been done). I just hope that fans of this show appreciate that this is totally FICTION and not actually real; and therefore has nothing to do with historical fact.

This movie was not exactly my favorite to watch, especially considering it was directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Ponyo had his artistic style, but my reaction was not at all similar to that of other works of his. I expected a story that had me thinking about anything ranging from questioning humanity or questioning what it means to love another. Ponyo's themes were more family-oriented, but it did not capture the same emotions and mindsets that previous Hayao Miyazaki films had.

Nonetheless, it's a good family film; but if you're a Hayao Miyazaki fan, it's not my favorite pick.

What attracted me most to Love Hina was the main character, Keitaro, and his perseverance on achieving his goals. His determination to do his best no matter how many times he had failed getting into Tokyo U, he still tried so that he could fulfill the promise he had made to a girl years ago.

Sure, the story has its funny moments and the love interest aspect, but aside from that, Keitaro's character is one I personally admire. Perhaps this is because I face a lot of my own life's journey's the way he does, and especially refusing to give up on things no matter how ... many times I had failed before. Love Hina certainly brings out an amazing protagonist.

And he's immortal! Can't count how many times he's gotten the Naru-punch!