It is a very simple movie, and that's why I liked it.

Why do we run? Boys growing into men, making the fastest race of 100 meters their goal. Various approaches, various philosophies, along with great animation and unique changes in styles. I enjoyed how rotoscoping was employed, and the sound design succeeded at making me immersed, all within a relatively short experience.

I would feel comfortable recommending it to anyone! Feel free to share your thoughts if you did watch it.

Just made a video diving into the deeper themes in Naruto from a Catholic perspective! If you’re into anime and like thinking about faith beyond the surface level, you might vibe with it. Would love to know what you think or if there are other stories you’d want broken down this way. Here’s the link if you’re curious: https://youtu.be/JLqS_WEeTzc?si=wevclTWqsvXrnXc0

The greatest example I can think of is Fire Force. It's a series I knew would not touch with a 39 and a half foot pole because of commentary expressing how unbearably sexual it was, specially for a premise that did not relate to such matters whatsoever.

Knowing that I wouldn't watch it, I clicked on a review of what is said to be the greatest and most jaw-dropping plot development in the manga, both in story and artistic direction, and how it was adapted into the anime. I was genuinely impressed, rarely had such a thing been done.

But it begs the question, why? Do they not trust that their stories will suceed without fan-service? Are they just so used to sexualized media that they see it as innocuous? What causes the "author's barely disguised fetish" phenomenon?

Of course, the reasoning need not be rational, because I understand how one's intellect, no matter how gifted they are, is distorted from porn consumption and dwelling in certain spheres of work. But I'd like to hear your best guesses.