About

I am fighting an enemy which can be defeated with books.

The Juraku Bookstore is an academic blog critiquing video games as an emerging literature and the rise of discourse communities around electronic media. Despite the namesake, it's not a pure Shin Megami Tensei blog; my topic is theoretically as broad as the industry itself. My goal is that my writing will not just retread familiar territory, but actively make these games better for both those who have already played them and those experiencing the material for the first time.

The author, Touya, has an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies with a minor in Art History. (University of Cincinnati, class of 2016.) He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Popular Culture studies. In addition to three years of formal Japanese studies, he has independently studied the language for two years.

Above all else, my hope is to promote understanding and enlightenment, and perhaps have some fun while doing it. I cannot promise a set schedule, but this is a labor of love for me and I'd like everything to be published when it is ready. I can't promise I'll be right about everything either, but that's what understanding is about.

Do try to think critically about my writings and judge for yourself how much of it you believe and if I'm correct or not. I believe that it is when we are most passionate about a topic that we are the most prone to error.