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On a more lighter note, we are introduced to an Anime that utilizes satirical phrases to oddly focus on the issues of various countries leading up to World War 2. Each character represents a specific country and ties its culture to a strong personality. For example, Germany comes across as a monotone and disciplined character in comparison to Italy, who is small but joyful. Overall, this anime does a great job at humorously depicting a crucial historical timeline.

The entire anime seeks to be applicable to real-life events. For instance, the usage of each person to represent a country, with traits easily applied to the real-world countries fostered an easy association to real-life World War II actions. My favorite part was in episode 19 when Italy was a major influence in Germany's attempt to learn how to cook. As someone who took AICE International History, it was easy to recognize the immediate reference to the real Axis Powers that engaged in several agreements during the entrance into World War 2.

This film contrasts the experiences and lifestyles of the two individuals Taki and Mitsuha. The story starts off as Mitsuha in a countryside town where she is tired of the constant expectations, and lack of activities to do in her little town of Itomori. She then yells to the sky "I want to be a handsome city boy in the next life." Then suddenly Mitsuha and Taki swapped places where each of them was in the opposite person's body. This kind of mimics many beliefs of the power in the skies, the power stars, and the solar system system have.

In to the show, both of them were initially very stunned by this sudden occurrence, and they both though of it as a dream. Being in this new body but with the same mind shocked them, however they started to explore the identity of the other person's life. Taki inside of Mitsuha's body clueless of the new feminine characteristics he now resides. He also employs masculine characteristics during this time where we can see how he grabbed a big bowl of rice, later we see how he lacks barriers between the opposite gender as he shoved Teshi to the side of the couch. We also see how the actual Mitsuha suddenly becomes the town's popular girl liked by other girls as well, this is because of Taki's doing. Now Mitsuha is inside Taki's body, she acted just as surprised as Taki had, shocked at the new masculine characteristics she now embodies. We can see the feminine characteristics Mitsuha expresses as she's in Taki's body from the way she talks, the way she is posing, and the wrong use of pronouns. She is also excited about the city lifestyle she wished for. We can see how she loves the cafe and orders an enormous amount of food. However, she experiences the downside of the city lifestyle, working. It is relatively expensive to live in the city and she saw the amount of days he have to work to keep up with the lifestyle.

A new medium!! I was wondering if we were ever going to discuss anime-esque video games in this class, because there are just so many that are insanely popular, and I'm glad we chose the Xenoblade Chronicles to analyze!! Watching it through cutscenes made the story a little jumpy and disorienting, but I think it was still a moderately good watch (minus the Youtube ads at the start of every 5 minute video that definitely at least added 30 minutes to my total watch time).

Alrest is a fictional, Earth-like world, where humanity lives on beings called Titans in the Cloud Sea. The world beneath the Cloud Sea is desolate and sparse, and Elysium, the sanctuary where humanity used to live, is a wasteland too. Humanity being forced to live in the Cloud Sea because of their destruction of the planet reminds me a lot of how our society is looking into if the moon and Mars are habitable, instead of working to fix the damage we've already done to Earth.

The Titans being living creatures fights one of the bases for modern civilization being objectification. Unlike in our world, where nature cannot obviously have its own quick reactions to people, and thus is easy to see as an object, the Titans are integral to society on Alrest, making their own decisions and having a say in how the land is treated. This made me reflect on how many people see topics as "out of sight, out of mind". To combat ecoterrorism, we have to continuously remind society on how much they use the environment, and the more subtle cries for help it gives us.

This module on ecology was my favorite so far. It felt less like contemplating the past or present aspects of society and more like looking towards the future. Everyone has to do their part to save the environment, and I've realized I really need to start pulling my weight.

This was my first time watching Nausicaä and I enjoyed it for the most part. I am going to critique it with the lens of instrumentalism.

The story is set in a post-nuclear world, following Nausicaä, a princess who lives in a village that attempts to distance itself from reliance on technology. Nausicaä is shown to be a strong leader and does not follow traditional gender roles. In the movie, she is a character that symbolizes resistance to environmental instrumentalism, where people believe that nature is just another tool for humans to use and that they can manipulate nature in any means necessary as long as it is beneficial for themselves. This belief is represented in the Pejite people who try to use the Ohms for their attacks and they have large mechanical ships to increase their military strength. Nausicaä represents this viewpoint that nature should be protected because of her nurturing nature towards the environment: an example would be how she tried to save an Ohm when she was really young or when she let Tito bite her to show that there is nothing to be afraid of. This does not follow the third wave of feminism as it broke down these roles such as nurturing for women and aggressive for men. A third waver would likely disagree with this part of the message.

Nausicaä finds that the forest plants are not toxic and the toxicity comes from the soil itself, which has been poisoned by the nuclear war that ravaged before. Nausicaä appeared to be the martyr of environmental protection with how she died and came back, completing the prophecy that Obaba foretold. I do think that the message that action should be taken to save the environment would be better served had Nausicaä died, instead of being revived by the Ohms, but I digress.

Just stating up front that I had a lot of trouble understanding this film, but I’ll try my best.

End of Evangelion picks up where the 3rd to last episode of Evangelion the series left off and tells the events in a more standard structure. The organization SEELE is trying to merge all human egos into one - the Human Completion Project. The film explores the same themes covered in the series: the nature of the self, good versus evil and expressions of both masculinity and femininity.

In the beginning of the film, we see Shinji once again characterized as stereotypically unmasculine. He is curled up in a fetal position as the base is being raided by the government. Furthermore, he is being dragged around and yelled at by Misato, a woman. In contrast, Asuka is piloting her EVA with great skill. She is enacting violence with ease indicative of traditional masculinity. Unfortunately, she is defeated by an Angel just as the power of her EVA runs out. Shinji agrees to pilot the EVA, just in time for him to see Asuka and her EVA destroyed. This destroys Shinji and he cries out in pain.

Then Rei assimilates with Lilith, and essentially gains omnipotence – an “entity equivalent to God.” This new being asks Shinji “What do you wish for?” All of humanity is then combined into one being.

These themes of masculinity touched on in Evangelion are, once again, on full display in the film. Shinji acts unmasculine throughout the film. He needs to be dragged around and told what to do by a woman. During Shinji’s first romantic experience, when Misato kisses him, he is essentially told what to do. Asuka continues to do a “man’s job” better than Shinji and holds off the militia and Angels with great competency. Shinji’s moment of greatest comfort comes when Rei/Lilith asks what he wants. Shinji is only consolable by a maternal figure – a characteristic more typical of a baby than a young man.

When Shinji goes through the assimilation of himself with humanity, we see a scene where he and Asuka interact. Asuka belittles Shinji and emasculates him. Shinji reaches his breaking point. Unable to command respect by the very virtue of being a man, he physically overpowers her. He demands respect by strangling her – a desperate attempt at gaining some control. Arguably, this is the most masculine act Shinji takes. Unfortunately, it is a violent one.

As humanity becomes one, Shinji experiences a full ego death. He sees how little he matters in the grand scheme of humanity. Shinji realizes how foolish it was to think everyone hated him. He was just another person like everyone else. Through this realization, he decides he wants to be separate from the conglomerate of humanity and asks to be separate. The omnipotence grants this wish and releases him. Shinji is alone with Asuka at the end of the Earth. Shinji decides to strangle Asuka. In response, Asuka shows Shinji some maternal tenderness and caresses his cheek. Shinji recognizes what he has become and cries over Asuka. Asuka responds with one word, “Pathetic.”

I don't know why I thought part two would be a new season, but it was just finishing off the original Neon Genesis Evangelion. I appreciate that choice so it's easier for us to follow the show! And I'm really excited that Asuka Langley Soryu was introduced in the first episode! She's like the og "tsundere" girlie and I love her for that. Asuka is such a petty girl boss and is also an interesting parallel to Shinji's and Rei's more quiet demeanors.

When Asuka is introduced to Shinji and his classmates, they are immediately surprised by her brash attitude. It might be due to her German descent that the Japanese characters are taken aback by her prideful personality. However, I believe it has nothing to do with where she comes from, and Asuka only comes off as confident to mask her insecurities. When she finally meets Shinji, the Third Child, she is jealous that he can effortlessly sync to his Evangelion, instead of going through the long training that she and Rei went through. In an attempt at friendliness, Asuka tries to bond with Rei about this dilemma in the locker room, saying sarcastically "He did it so effortlessly it's a little frustrating, you know? He's amazing! Magnificent! Tough! Too tough! Ooh, Shinji the Mighty! Our jobs will be so much easier thanks to him! Right? We'll have to work super-duper hard to keep him from leaving us in the dust!" Yet, her conversation falls on deaf ears as Rei leaves her alone mid-sentence. And she isn't the only one who doesn't care about her. Even though she should be at least acquainted with Misato and Shinji because the three of them live together, it's clear by the body language that they consider Asuka a very annoying roommate. All of this neglect doesn't just make Asuka feel more insecure about her capabilities as a pilot, but alone in Japan without anyone to truly connect with. It makes me feel really bad for her.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a staple anime in Japanese pop-culture that has existed since the 1990s. We follow our main character Shinji Ikari, a fourteen-year-old boy who pilots an Eva that is linked to his psychological makeup. Shinji, from there, battles with creatures referred to as Angels who seem to want to destroy mankind. That is the general overview from just the first episode, but the actual details behind this anime run far deeper than what is on the surface. We see the anime delve into themes of masculinity, isolation, and rejection.  

I actually have already watched NGE during the quarantine era, and I was super obsessed with the show due to my connection with the characters and the dilemmas they faced as humans. It has been a while since I last analyzed NGE, so it is nice to come at this anime with a specific purpose, rather than just for pleasure watching, which is ironic considering its darker tones.  

  I personally have never been to any Anime fandom convention. To be honest,  I wasn’t really invested in Anime at all before this class. However, this class has taught me many things including the context of Anime and the fandoms that surround it. It also made me enjoy Anime and the concept behind it. Apart from that, since I didn’t go to any actual conventions, I watched the 3 parts of the documentary instead. It is very interesting to say the least, the documentary went over many aspects of the Anime culture, the cosplay culture, and the general communities they provide for the people and the fans.

  To start off with, I want to discuss my findings on the Otaku community, those who have a keen interest in Anime, Manga, and cosplay. During the documentary, it showed tens of thousands of people gathering at the Otakon. People from all over the world gather at the city it’s being hosted in to pursue their interest and their passion in either Anime, Cosplay, or similar contexts. We see the very diversified audiences of the Otakon, from children, teenagers, adults, the elderly, and different cultures from all around the world gathered together to celebrate the Otaku community. The community itself brought and flourished cultural exchange, and different people from different cultures were able to collaborate, celebrate, and communicate about the similar passion they have for the Otaku community.

  Another interesting discovery were the answers, when the interviewers asked the attendees the question “Do you consider yourself to be an Otaku?” Although the festival is Otakon, many people actually don’t consider themselves to be Otaku. They perceived the meaning of Otaku as someone who is very invested in the Otaku culture. Some although very passionate cosplayers and such, do not consider themselves to be one. The identity of being an Otaku varies from person to person, some consider themselves to be one even though they have only been to a single Otakon event, while others don’t even though they have been to multiple. It may also have something to do with how the Otaku culture is perceived by the outside world. Although many people are interested in Anime and Otaku culture, it is still not relatively a big subculture in the U.S. Some people may criticize the ones who are devoted to the culture, and the Otaku themselves could be subject to embarrassment. This also leaves us to talk about the next discovery I found in the fandoms, and Otaku culture, belonging.

This show dived into the idea of homosexuality, and how gender is a social construct, an expression of sexuality. One cannot choose not to gender, but unconsciously reaches expectations of gender performance, but some can never be comfortable with gender performance they have been taught. For example, when Nitori’s sister noticed Nitori dressed in feminine clothing, she said it disgusted her. Although, disgust is mostly referred to when something that is not clean, but in this scenario, it’s referred to an impure version. This show places importance that when gender and sex are not in appropriate places gives an alarming intervention. Nitori is given false confidence that her friends and the classmates will accept her feminine gender presentation with few exceptions, and once again, underscores Butler’s theory that gender is a performance of social reality. This other character in the movie, Doi, is constantly bullying Nitori, but has a drawn attraction. In this situation, Nitori tells him she hates him, and he is hurt.  This show also shows that it is easier for girl to cross-dress than males to perform femininity because masculinity is policed more strictly. Since the adoption of males to feminine clothing is new, the adoption of females to masculine clothing or features has been common. For example, the use of trouser bans has been used. Moreover, even though Japan does not use gender pronouns, Nitori did not clearly define a pronoun, and she was not ready to self-identify, which second wave feminists did not approve. At first, Nitori performed masculinity in a relationship with Anna, and this created discomfort as it did not connect to homosexuality. After this, Nitori experiments with the feminine gender through clothing and sympathetic nature, especially when a teacher bumped into her, and apologizes to him. To conclude, this show was interesting to watch because of Nitori’s growth to find what she is comfortable with and receive support through her change.