Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to write any contributions to this devotional. But I’m sure it will still be amazing anyway.
Official release date of volume 2: June 1st
Blurb:
Have you ever wanted a season two of your favorite anime but found out it is unlikely for the company to produce one? Stinks, doesn’t it? (And that’s an understatement!) Well, Finding God in Animedefinitely isn’t like that. After all, you’re looking at volume two right now!
Welcome to the second installment of the acclaimed devotional: Finding God in Anime! Each bite-size piece comes straight from the passionate otaku souls in our collective of Christian authors. You will find anime inspired pieces from across tons of beloved genres within this devotional, and each one presents a unique and Biblical outlook on your favorite shows!
· Find God’s fatherly love in Daddy’s Girl, inspired by Fullmetal Alchemist
· Go down to your atoms to discover God’s purpose for us in Jobs, inspired by Cells at Work
· Huddle up to hear God’s game plan for living like Him in Get Your Head in the Game, inspired by Kuroko’s Basketball
…and so many others! So grab your shuriken or computerized make-up compact and join us on the exciting adventure of finding God’s teachings in anime!
And now the cover reveal!
Check out @findinggodinanime on Instagram to learn more.
You may remember last week when I did two posts in a row because of a release getting moved up. That release was for the devotional, Finding God in Anime: A devotional for Otakus. You can find that original post here.
The devotional is available on amazon and other retailers as a free ebook. It was hard to come up with a compelling blog post for this tour. How would you even review a multi author devotional anyway? So then I thought about featuring a devotional. But it’s a free ebook. You can just download it for $0.00.
Then it struck me, the perfect way to show you what an anime devotion was like, without spoiling any of the ones in the book.
Write an entirely new devotion that isn’t featured in the book. Scroll down for an exclusive devotion based on the anime Demon slayer.
Otakus have found the God of Wonders within the pages of manga and the twists of anime. These are their reflections on how truth can intersect with animated fiction.
I repeat this is not part of the Finding God in Anime devotional this is just for my readers.
Pray for your Demons
A Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba devotion
By C.O. Bonham
Demon Slayer is a show easiest understood if you replace Demon with Vampire. Demons, in this show, have eternal life, but will die in sunlight. Humans can become demons by being given demon blood, they then must feed on human blood to sustain their new existence. So yeah, basically vampires.
Tanjiro Kamado returns home one day to find his entire family slaughtered by a demon. Save for one, his younger sister Nezuko is not dead but turned. He sets out to both find a way to return his sister’s humanity and to learn how to prevent others from ending up like his family.
Tanjiro is a talented student and learns to become a powerful demon slayer. That the demons used to be human, never quite sits right with him. He will spare those who do not kill humans. But those who take human life, he sees it as his duty to destroy them.
The weird thing is, even after killing a murdering demon, Tanjiro prays for their soul to find peace in the next life. This show uses Japanese Shinto religion, so the next life is reincarnation. He’s not praying that they go to heaven. After telling a demon that he can never forgive his murder of another human, he still wishes him to live a good life on the next go.
It seems counterintuitive to us. Why would you wish peace on a demon? Let me reiterate, these demons are not fallen angels who have no hope. These demons are twisted humans. Tanjiro is just doing what he does best, caring for others.
This is an authentic example of loving your enemy to me. Yes, he kills the demons, but only to preserve the lives of others. He does not hunt the demons out of revenge for his family.
In fact, the demon who killed them, the one who turned his sister Nezuko, Muzan Kibutsuji, Tanjiro hunts him, only hoping to restore his sister’s humanity. Not for revenge.
Take heed of Tanjiro’s lesson, do nothing out of revenge, but only for the good of others. Pray for the demons in your life, even the ones you have to slay.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
My other anime devotion is available inside and it’s based on My Hero Academia. Read it to discover Deku’s True Quirk.
About Finding God in Anime
Being a Christian can be tough. Being an otaku can be tough. But being both at once?
Sometimes it seems easier to become Hokage rather than explaining your faith and passions to others. That is why we otaku have united in this devotional: To encourage otaku like you spiritually and through a medium we all cherish.
In this devotional, you will find God in the animes you know and love. Each devotional presents spiritual lessons found in animes ranging from the world-famous Attack on Titan to fan-favorite Haikyu!! to beloved classics like Cowboy Bebop. Each piece will feature a different theme such as:
Human Will vs. The Holy Spirit in Yona of the Dawn
Choosing to be Free in Free! Swim Club
Not by My Might in My Hero Academia
…and many others! We believe that God can be seen throughout His creation—even in places where people might not intend! So pull out your cosplay and snuggle close with your plushies as you join us in Finding God in Anime.
Laura and Moriah’s life consists of giving each other manga recommendations until they see whose TBR pile will fall on them first. Rest assured they’re both still safe…until another manga releases. In the meantime, they enjoy sharing beautiful pictures of Japan and trying to make each other laugh with anime memes. They both have an appreciation for cute stickers, samurai, and pins. If they’re not chatting about all things otaku, you can find them trying to write their next story or surviving on ramen and pocky after their latest manga order.
Celebrate the release of Finding God in Anime by participating in the manga photo challenge on Instagram! During the month of June, the organizers will be spotlighting a variety of manga that have had an anime adaptation by showcasing them using #MangaFestival in their posts. Each title prompt is an anime that is featured in the devotional. Grab your favorite manga and get ready to celebrate!
If you would like to follow the blog tour you can start by checking out Laura’s kick off post here: https://www.lauraagrace.com/blog
I know I literally just posted something yesterday. But this one is important. This book was originally meant to come out the first of June, but now it’s coming out today!
I couldn’t postpone telling you about it because I wrote a piece for this one.
Being a Christian can be tough. Being an otaku can be tough. But being both at once?
Sometimes it seems easier to become Hokage rather than explaining your faith and passions to others. That is why we otaku have united in this devotional: To encourage otaku like you spiritually and through a medium we all cherish.
In this devotional, you will find God in the animes you know and love. Each devotional presents spiritual lessons found in animes ranging from the world-famous Attack on Titan to fan-favorite Haikyu!! to beloved classics like Cowboy Bebop. Each piece will feature a different theme such as:
Human Will vs. The Holy Spirit in Yona of the Dawn
Choosing to be Free in Free! Swim Club
Not by My Might in My Hero Academia
…and many others! We believe that God can be seen throughout His creation—even in places where people might not intend! So pull out your cosplay and snuggle close with your plushies as you join us in Finding God in Anime.
“What is an otaku,” you ask. The short answer is that it’s Nerd in Japanese. The long answer is that English speakers have adopted it as a way of defining a westerner who is obsessed with Japanese pop culture, products, and trends. Things like: anime, manga, and video games.
So I wrote an anime devotion. Does that make me an otaku? I guess. I mean, maybe, not really. I don’t follow anime because it’s Japanese. Most of it’s just really good writing. In fact, I will only watch it if it’s dubbed in English. I don’t read manga because the right to left formatting drives me nuts. And I’m just not very good at video games. (Still stuck on chapter 3 of Bendy and the Ink Machine.)
But I do love good stories. And Anime’s have some of the most compelling storylines that I’ve ever seen. Honestly, achieving the level of plot twist that I’ve seen on some of these shows, are my writing goals.
That said, there is a very strong opinion that good Christians shouldn’t watch anime, (or any fantasy for that matter). This idea is sad because, anime is only a medium. There are good and bad ones, just like there are good and bad sitcoms. A good Christian should use discernment to decide what entertainment is in keeping with their beliefs.
This devotional was made to help you with that. It isn’t meant to push you to watch anime is you don’t want to. It isn’t made to justify anime to those who still feel that it’s wrong. Instead it’s for the Christian Otaku to read, and grow closer to God through the entertainment they love. And to know that they are not alone in loving that entertainment.
The best part is that this book is free as an E-book. The paperback will cost you about eight bucks.
C. O. Bonham 