Fiction and Fantasy

Thoughts and excerpts from the mind of Jeannette Jonic

Category: Analysis

The Archetypal Characters of Kingdom Hearts

Photo by Sime Basioli on Unsplash Kingdom Hearts is a powerfully atmospheric video game series: the iconic opening cutscenes prove this time and time again. Characters fall into an ocean that dissolves into air as they land on stained-glass windows that shatter underfoot. Utada Hikaru’s Japanese pop music accompanies these visuals, providing an otherworldly and yet somehow familiar…

February 8, 2019
Theme Talk: Living for Oneself in Don Bluth’s Thumbelina

Editor’s Note: Corrected some typos on 9-30-21. Why didn’t anyone warn me about this?! Many people consider Disney the epitome of classic animation and a hallmark of their childhood. I’ve always enjoyed Disney, but there was a second animation studio I cherished just as much as Disney: Don Bluth Productions. Bluth’s The Land Before Time,…

January 11, 2019
Character Study: Who Is Eren Jaeger? (Attack on Titan)

This post will contain spoilers for The Attack on Titan anime You have been warned. Funimation 2013 On the surface, Eren Jaeger of Attack on Titan seems like your typical shonen protagonist: he’s a young boy with aspirations of grandeur (to drive out and kill1 “every last one of” the Titans) and has an almost…

January 4, 2019
Character Study: Reki (Haibane Renmei)

This post will contain spoilers for Haibane Renmei You have been warned. “This is my cocoon dream. The nightmare that has been tormenting my existence in this world… I remember cold winds stinging my cheeks that were wet from tears… I was too tired to think. I remember wanting to become a stone. A stone…

December 14, 2018
Theme Talk: Fighting for Relationships in The Place Promised in Our Early Days

This post will contain spoilers for The Place Promised in Our Early Days You have been warned. There are some things in life that are impossible to understand fully until you’ve experienced it firsthand. Many of these entail some form of loss, such as loss of a beloved pet or loved one, or even loss…

November 23, 2018
Type Casting: Aang

Some characters are so well-written that they seem life-like. But how would these “realistic” characters stand up to real-life personality typing? It’s time to put the Enneagram back to the test, gauging characters’ personality types based on their core drives and greatest fears. Type Casting: Personality Typing Your Favorite Characters Avatar: The Last Airbender, 2005-2008…

September 28, 2018

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