Blog Tour

[June 2020 OWLS] Sonic X – Being Mindful in a Whole New World

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6th Monthly Topic: Mindfulness

If we don’t take care of our minds and souls, we will always be in pain.

For the past few months, things have been pretty hectic. Everyone’s lives have changed to some degree, and we can’t help but feel anxious, nervous, and overwhelmed. This month we will be focusing on ourselves and keeping a strong peace of mind with our theme, “Mindfulness.” We will be analyzing characters that have crafted and practiced their own philosophy on life and have spread their beliefs to others. We will also be talking about habits, hobbies, and things that are keeping us sane, positive, and peace within our souls.

If you like my blog and want to support it, feel free to donate my Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/matthat

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[April 2020 OWLS Tour] Marvel’s Spider-Man – The strongest hope within the smallest web

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4th monthly Topic: Hope

We are in the midst of a pandemic which has led people to live in fear and anxiety over the coronavirus. For this month, rather than seeing the dark side of the situation we are living in, we will be exploring anime and other pop culture mediums that bring hope for humanity and why they have such a positive impact on us.

*Spoilers warning if you have not played Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4

Please support my website through Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/matthat

Please go and read Takuto’s blog post about Shirobako.

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[March 2020 OWLS Blog Tour] Crisis Core – Devote the honor in the sword

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Topic: Devotion

When we talked about fandoms, we show our appreciation and support by buying merchandise, cosplaying, writing fanfiction and etc. In fact, our appreciation can end up looking like a sign of religious worship. For this month, we will be talking about how certain characters express devotion to others, objects, and values. We will also be discussing how devotion can turn into an unhealthy form of passion and obsession and the implications of that.

*Spoilers for anyone new to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, but I will try to spoil the entire story.

Please help my site by donating at Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/matthat

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[Jan 2020 OWLS Blog Tour] Spider-Verse: A clear vision requires a leap of faith

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January 2020

Vision

Happy New Year! Since it is a new year, it’s a new you! This month we will be talking about various pop culture mediums that focus on envisioning “the future.” What type of future do we want for ourselves, our communities, and the world? Also, we will be sharing our goals and plans for the new year. Once again, happy new year!

*minor spoilers if you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Also go check out Megan’s post about A Silent Voice for this month’s tour.

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[OWLS Nov 2019 Blog Tour] Bleach – Failed defeats leads to successful triumphs

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 Image result for ichigo kurosaki bankai

11th Monthly Topic: “Failure”

Lita’s Request

One of the best ways we can learn is through failure. This month we will be talking about the failures of our favorite characters in pop culture media and what we can learn from them. We will also reflect on our own mistakes and failures and how those experiences have allowed us to grow as human beings.

Examples:

Pokemon

Naruto

Feel free to donate to help my website:

https://ko-fi.com/matthat

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[OWLS Oct 2019 Blog Tour] Kingdom Hearts – There’s no boundaries in fantasy

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Related image

Fantasy

In the month of October, we will be exploring the world of fantasy in pop culture. The genre of fantasy focuses on telling stories about our external and internal environments. There are many ways we can interpret the word, fantasy. For example, we can talk about how a fantastical place could glorify what reality should be or the dangers of ideal expectations. Fantasy could also be seen as taking a “wild journey” or a “hallucination” and how that can affect our psyche and well-being. Fantasy can also focus on our personal dreams and expectations and how those expectations do not align with our reality. Overall, our posts will reflect on how we view the fantasy genre and what we can learn about these pop culture mediums.

Examples:

Harry Potter

Norn 9

Ancient Magnus Bride

Don’t forget to donate to my website at Ko-Fi:

https://ko-fi.com/matthat

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[June 2019 OWLS] Sword Art Online/Alternative – Digital faces for the vulnerable

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Vulnerability

In the month of June, we will be discussing what it means to be vulnerable. To some individuals, being vulnerable could be seen as a sign of weakness, but in fact, vulnerability is actually a sign of strength. In this month’s posts, we will explore what it means to be vulnerable and how certain characters in pop culture glamorize vulnerability. When do we show our vulnerability? How do we express vulnerability? Why should we show vulnerability? These are questions that we will be discussing in our posts featuring characters that show vulnerability and/or sensitivity and what we can learn from them or even our own personal stories

*May contain spoilers to the anime Sword Art Online

Also please check out Ange’s post on vulnerable in the anime The Rose of Versailles.

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[May 2019 Blog Tour] Anime/Manga – Seeking Your Inner Happiness

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Image result for naruto hugging himself

May 1, 2019

5th Monthly Topic: “Happiness”

Happiness is subjective. We all have different definitions of what happiness means to us and we also feel happiness in varying degrees. This month we will be exploring several questions describing our happiness in our fandoms, communities, and hobbies. Why do we find enjoyment watching anime or reading manga? Why did we decide to join the anime or pop culture communities? Why do we blog about our hobbies or cosplay as our favorite characters? This topic is all about the passions we have for our interests and why they are important to us.

Examples:

Cosplaying

Anime blogging community

Massive otaku collections

Fanfiction junkie

 

Please be sure to read BeckNaja’s post on Happiness!

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[April 2019 OWLS Blog Tour] JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures: Masculinity within the Joestars

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Masculinity

Last month, we explored the meanings behind the terms, “feminine” and “feminism.” This month the OWLS bloggers will explore the concept of masculinity. We each have our own definition of what it means to be masculine and we will explore our definitions using “masculine” characters from various pop culture fandoms. We will discuss how these characters are “masculine” or show signs of a masculine persona. We will also share our personal stories about the amazing men that supported us in our lives as well as sharing some of our experiences growing up as a man or knowing men who struggled with the masculine identity.

*Spoilers ahead!

Please check out OWLS blogger Crimson from Read at Night for her post on April 15th.

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