Otaku Ryōhō - Geek Therapy

Slice-of-Life is Nice and Wise

May 31, 2021 · Discuss on the Geek Therapy Forum

Gian cannot contain himself any longer and he chooses to start a discussion about the value of Slice of Life anime. He invites special guest Marc Cuiriz (Here Comes a Thought Podcast and The Codex Podcast) to talk about what about the genre inspires us. They all give examples of their favorite slice of life animes and why they are so meaningful.
They also discuss how we define Slice of Life and its therapeutic value.

Talking Points: Slice of Life, Mundane Experiences, Highschool, Relationships, Romance, Anime, Ordinary life, Extraordinary lives, magic, Students, Emotional Intelligence, shojo, shonen,

Anime Mentioned: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Clannad, Fruits Basket, Tora Dora, Rent-A-Girlfriend, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, The Pet Girl from Sakurasou, Tonari no Seki-kun, The Ancient Magus Bride, Persona 5, Food Wars, Dragon Ball Z, Attack On Titan Junior High, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days, Golden Time, Honey and Clover, Quintessential Quintuplets.

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Follow Josue Cardona on twitter @JosueACardona

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Overwhelming Scales: When Anime Goes Over 9000

February 8, 2021 · Discuss on the Geek Therapy Forum

Josué starts a discussion about the tendency of shōnen anime to escalate the stakes of the story to astronomical levels and beyond. What can we learn from these stories? They talk about the value of having characters that constantly face increasingly difficult challenges with unwavering optimism and confidence in one’s own capacity for skill acquisition.

Talking Points: Hopelessness, Resilience, Overwhelm, Time Travel, Change, Progressiveness, Growth, Challenge, Obstacles, Generational Gaps.

Anime Mentioned: Dragon Ball, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Food Wars

Contact Us:

Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord

Follow Gian Ramos on twitter @Psychogonically

Follow Josue Cardona on twitter @JosueACardona

Follow the Geek Therapy Network on twitter @Geektherapy

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Otaku Ryoho Mythos: Cosmic Horror in Anime

October 26, 2020 · Discuss on the Geek Therapy Forum

Gian tries his best to explain his favorite genre of Horror, the cosmic type. He uses Attack on Titan (Season 3) as an illustration of what happens when we are faced with threats or ideas that feel beyond our comprehension. He talks about H.P. Lovecraft’s beliefs about race and mental illness and how communities have utilized the framework of his work to talk about overwhelming experiences and fear of the unknown while still addressing the more pernicious aspects of his perspective. Josué and Gian disagree about how people would hypothetically react to cosmic threats. Gian talks about why the genre resonates so much with him.

Talking Points: Cosmic Horror, Resiliency, Grand Scale, Anxiety, Despair, Existentialism, Rational Emotional Behavior Therapy, Race, Syphillis, Lovecraftian concept of the insane, Xenophobia, Lovecraft

Anime Mentioned: Attack on Titan, Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World, The Promised Neverland, Dragon Balls, Naruto

Contact Us:

Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord

Follow Gian Ramos on twitter @Psychogonically

Follow Josue Cardona on twitter @JosueACardona

Follow the Geek Therapy Network on twitter @Geektherapy

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Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Compassion

October 12, 2020 · Discuss on the Geek Therapy Forum

Welcome to Season 2 of Otaku Ryoho! Josue starts the season by talking about how difficult 2020 has been for him, but also for so many of us. In these times, it is likely to many of us have felt overwhelmed not only by our own struggles but by vicariously witnessing the struggles of others in our communities. Josue frames the discussion around the way he experiences compassion fatigue as he watches the protagonist Subaru on the hit series Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World tolerate cyclical forms of suffering. We talk about ways that we have used our creativity as a way to deal with compassion fatigue. Gian talks about how Subaru’s suffering was relatable to his own struggles as a medical student and how his story actually felt more validating than tiring for him.

Talking Points: Compassion Fatigue, Intersectionality, Trauma, Resilience, Loneliness, Journaling, cycles of suffering

Anime Mentioned: Re: Zero – Starting Life in Another World, Attack on Titan

Contact Us:

Join us in the Geek Therapy Discord

Follow Gian Ramos on twitter @Psychogonically

Follow Josue Cardona on twitter @JosueACardona

Follow the Geek Therapy Network on twitter @Geektherapy

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Understanding Life through Anime

August 19, 2020 · Discuss on the Geek Therapy Forum

As they end Season 1, Gian and Josué talk about the Ryoho Experience. Josué talks about the benefit he gained from using anime as illustration to illustrate discussions on life and more complicated/fascinating matters. Gian talks about how viewing anime through the lens of another can change your world view and goes at length to talk about how Food Wars changed his life. They then talk about possible future themes and anime they would love to explore in the future.

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Anime Remakes: Same but Different

August 12, 2020 · Discuss on the Geek Therapy Forum

Josue brings the topic of Anime Remakes and how frequent series are remade into rebooted series, spinoffs, and movies. They talk about how this changes the way we consume these stories. They also talk about the way these stories are rewritten and reflect the context of newer generations and how much they love to see old stories be adapted, rewritten, and reimagined.