Saturday Side Quest - Holy Mascot, Shin-Chan!
Where has faith and fandom intersected this week?
Look—I’m just gonna call it like it is: The Pope stole my notebook.
If you somehow missed the news this week, the Vatican announced an anime mascot in honor of Jubilee 2025, and frankly, they are adorable.
In all seriousness, I doubt that Checkpoint Church or the general nerd ministry out there is on the radar of the Pope (but maybe👀), but the actual interview around the creation of this character, Luce, should ring very familiar to anyone in my orbit.
The mascot, he said, was inspired by the church’s desire “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth.”1
This is connected significantly to the World Expo in Osaka next year, where Luce and friends will be present. The announcement of this character has been lauded on the Internet with a cavalcade of memes and banter—it’s been humbling, to be honest.
There are certainly moments where my beloved United Methodist Church feels larger-than-life and impactful. Still, there are moments when I’m reminded of the overwhelming presence of the historic Catholic Church. I doubt the UMC will even have a presence at the World Expo 2025, or at least if they are; I’d love to get the invite (I want to be in Japan, let’s be real).
It’s also in these moments that I get inspired with a primitive awareness that I’m nowhere near my ceiling. There are so many avenues that nerd ministry can and should branch towards in the future, and I would be honored to be a part of that in any way, shape, or form.
In another bit of related Catholic news—it’s been a busy week for them—I was shown the trailer for the upcoming anime film Kimi No Iro (Your Colors) from A Silent Voice director Naoko Yamada.
This story revolves around a young Christian girl who can see emotions in colors and creates a band in the setting of their Catholic-appearing school. It’s like Bocchi the Rock meets Life Is Strange: True Colors, and I’m here for it.
I do think it’s helpful, especially as religious discourse becomes more ubiquitous online, that we have a grounding point for the intersection of religion and pop culture.
The latest Crash Course series on religion from Internet personality and tuberculosis research advocate John Green has been a good start on an earnest approach to educating the masses. I’m hopeful John will explore pop culture’s relationship with religion in a future episode.
Green served as a hospital chaplain (likely Clinical Pastoral Education, though I’m unsure) for a season and was enrolled at a Divinity School. However, he never attended, feeling called to other means of advocacy after experiencing the trauma of the hospital.
Diverging from that, I’ve had a productive week filled with inspiration. I’ve been particularly struck by a film I’ll mention below, but I can only say it will get plenty of attention in the next month. I’m embarking on a journey with a character named Ibelin and the message I believe he has post-mortem for the world of digital ministry.
I continue to be inspired by the wisdom of Seth Godin as I work my way further through his latest entry. Such a fantastic way with words that light fires.
There was also the re-introduction of the world of Life is Strange into my life with the Let’s Play of the latest entry beginning on the Checkpoint Church stream this week. I’ve long held an affinity with Max Caulfield (kindred cheesy, introverted spirits as we are), and I’m glad she’s back in my life. Curious as to how the story will go in the remaining chapters. Happy to be in a state of unknowing with that game, whereas I’ve had none of it spoiled this go-around.
A bit of a mixture of emotions as we enter November, and I am not interested in the annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).
In one instance, I am endlessly satisfied with the writing I am fortunate enough to offer the world. On the other hand, I enjoy the craft of fiction and would enjoy publishing something in more places than just the World Wide Web. Maybe next year, the itch shall return.
Or maybe I need not be so tied to November, where I am notoriously busy.
On a closing note, I continue to be delighted by Metaphor: ReFantazio, otherwise known as the worst-named game of 2024. The themes are heavy-handed, but it’s a message that never gets old. In a world where the visible population of gaming can often be so White, it’s a valid reminder that racism is unacceptable and deplorable. Sometimes, 100 RPG hours of that refrain might be needed to get the point across.
Will It Preach?
I finished a few things this week, so I will reflect on them in this space. Would they preach? See if you agree with my take.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024)
This documentary is perfect. I don’t mean to be hyperbolic. It likely has it’s literal flaws. Perhaps the pacing could be adjusted, or the story could be told in a different order. I mean to say this: the story this documentary tells is perfect. Will preach. Not only will it preach, but it will be preached. Three times this month. More info on Checkpoint Church’s YouTube this Sunday.
Trillion Game, Volume 1 (2020)
I have to admit I was skeptical of this one at first. It’s a bit… on the nose? But there is something refreshingly honest about greedy people being greedy in a wholesome way. Underneath that layer of vice, a friendship is forged here, and there are some great quotes worth mentioning in the first volume alone. Random fanservice distracts a bit, but it’s far from the Wolf of Wall Street level, so I cut them some slack. Will preach.
Oldboy (2003)
No one spoiled this movie’s twist for me and I almost wished they had. This is a pretty messed up film, and that’s coming from someone who unironically loves Danganronpa as a franchise. It reminded me a bit of Saw, except it traded out the gore of the torture porn and, well, added morbid sexuality. Even still, this film is rich in the consequences of revenge and senseless cruelty. With all this in mind, I’d prefer it be hypnotized from my memory. Will preach, but probably shouldn’t.
The Credit Roll
These are some of the things I found this week that I am sharing as a bonus. Enjoy my custom For You feed.
Music is one of my less written-about passions, but I was positively moved this week by an innovative musician on TikTok who played along with his VHS TV.
More music—I discovered an AMV to the cult hit Chu Chu Lovely by Maximum the Hormone (Thanks Fujimoto) with Bocchi the Rock clips, and it’s everything. Don’t look up the translation; I AM a pastor, after all.
Let’s finish up the hat trick here with more music. I stumbled upon a harpist dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog (in werehog form, I’m forced to assume) playing the iconic Sonic Adventure 2’s ‘Escape from the City.’ It’s truly something only the Internet could provide.
Let me know what you’d be interested in seeing from this Saturday Side Quest personal blog. I’m happy to hear your ideas and see which inspires creativity. Also, would you enjoy an audio version? It wouldn’t work ideally, but I’m glad to give it a college try if it makes sense for audio readers.
https://thedialog.org/vatican-news/archbishop-rino-fisichella-of-dicastery-for-evangelization-unveils-official-mascot-of-the-holy-year-2025-luce/
Resonated hard with the point about feeling between pulls with writing. I've been trying to change the direction of my personality VR writing into less anecdotal and more just-spotlighting in its focus as dovetailed into the later stuff I have been trying to write anecdotally for To The Point. @_@
I loved the John Green mention! I'll need to check that Crash Course out.