Manga

While Yugioh is better remembered and known as the franchise for the card game that catapulted it into the limelight, in terms of its story, there exist many darker elements behind the shounen facade. Even early on in Yugioh's creation as a manga, there were depicted all sorts of "games" that would've been more at home in the Saw film series: immolation from ice hockey, a roller-coaster that electrocuted anyone who makes a sound and Russian roulette with a fatally poisoned dish to name a few.

And of course, the losers of these games were often depicted as suffering gruesome ends (sometimes censored even for the anime) that were initially caused by the darker half of the main character Yugi Muto. What's more, all these examples of mortal peril, realistic or supernatural, existed on top of the suspense and mind games into the characters' vulnerability, a noteworthy example being the character Mai Kujaku/Valentine's entrapment in an hourglass of man-eating bugs while she was mercilessly taunted on her own self-worth.

Consequently, with so many sinister themes shadowing the lighter ones throughout, should Yugioh when treated as a story be recognized in hindsight as much of a horror manga as well as shounen despite its creator Kazuki Takahashi saying otherwise?

Requires having completed the series. A lot of people claim Kishimoto does not really have the guts to kill characters off. While this is more or less true, and while there have been some moments where most other writers would’ve killed their characters where Kishimoto failed, the concept of death is a very real presence. Examine how through the characters of Kushina, Minato, Obito’s afterlife sequence, Kakashi with his father, and of course Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Itachi, Asuma, and Neji.

Freud, Erikson, and Naruto’s Stages of Development: People like Freud and Erikson had their social stages or psychosexual stages of development. This idea would seek to determine and tell where Naruto stands vs. where he’s supposed to stand. How has this effected his growth from the loud-mouthed 12 year-old to the mature adult he had later become. For whoever does this article: Make sure you have at least a basic knowledge of the stages of development in Erikson as well as Freud and have completed the manga series.

So, Kishimoto is at it again and Naruto hasn't died as a story yet. However, Naruto Gaiden, the sequel set after the events of Naruto Shippuden, explores themes different than the original series such as the real definition of a mother, maturation, angst and identity crisis not to mention a spectacular female lead character. Many criticized Kishimoto for not being good with female characters but this time, it seemed it worked very well. Well enough to put previous characters to shame. Thoughts?

Universal Studios, one of the more venerable studios still around since the early era of film had never achieved a "billion" dollar film until Furious 7 crossed that threshold this summer. The Fast and Furious series never seemed to be destined for the financial and critical acclaim it is currently celebrating. What started out as a bland remake of Point Break, that somehow justified three sequels of debatable quality, ultimately led to the first major Hollywood cross-over franchise film in the 5th one. This article would look at how luck, circumstance, casting conflict, and one determined director created the first successful cross over movie, taking disparate elements of stories by other people and fashioning them into a coherent whole.

Explore the darker themes within the series.

I often find myself thinking, "this should be adapted to an anime" while reading manga. It would be great to make a list of the top manga that we think should become an anime and a good explanation why.

An article exploring the collaborative effort to translate Japanese manga to English and other languages. How does it work? Are official translations more accurate? Explore both official translations and fan translations.