Kaitlyn Ugoretz

(RNS) — Shinto rituals in “Your Name.” Daoist sorcery in “Cardcaptor Sakura.” Chakras in “Naruto.” And oh, that one time Moses parted the Red Sea with a Beyblade in “Beyblade: Metal Fusion.” Japanese spirituality inspires and permeates much of the manga, anime and video games that have exploded in popularity among Gen Z and millennial Americans, part of a massive boom in the popularity of East Asian media in recent years.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s alleged shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, told the police that he was motivated by Abe’s connections to the messianic new religious movement known as the Unification Church. Yamagami explained that his mother had made a “huge donation” to the group, and he blamed the church for bankrupting his mother and ruining his family.