There’s nothing quite as memorable, unique, and soothing as Sage’s voice–both his physical voice and his writing voice.

Each video begins with the visuals and sound of pattering rain, immediately washing over my soul and preparing me for another one of Sage’s well-thought, quiet essays. As he says in his video “To Understand Rain,” his videos are filled with a refreshing melancholy, a pondering stillness to them, just like the rain.

He covers a wide variety of media from video games to cartoons to superheroes, but most of the videos I’ve seen are his essays on anime. Despite having not even watched Naruto (and thus not having the enormous connection of nostalgic affection for it as most people), I found his video analyzing the portrayal of Shikamura’s grief to be absolutely stunning… and profound.

Knowing how many of you enjoy anime (and how hard it can be to relax in this crazy, fast-paced world), I definitely recommend checking out some Sage’s Rain videos.

Channel: Sage’s Rain

But if you’re really not feeling checking out someone new (but still in the mood for a little melancholy), check out this snippet from the then-prologue (well, now it’s part of the first chapter…) of The Victor’s Blade. Bonus: You get to see a glimpse of my mood back when I had only just begun rewriting an older draft of TVB Book 1.