I noticed that Your Name presents a lot of examples of power being dynamic and originating from various of sources and directions. An example is, of course, when Mitsuha transforms into Taki and gets criticized by Takiās friends during lunch for using ābokuā instead of āore,ā the more masculine self-pronoun. This means that Takiās friends are enforcing their own notion of normality onto Mitsuha, who isnāt adjusted to using āore,ā in other words exerting power over Mitsuha. At the same time, Mitsuha can still exert power over others in Takiās form. This is seen when she works as a waiter in Takiās body and denies a customer free food over a toothpick stuck inside a pizza. The power dynamic changes from Mitsuha to the customer when he calls the manager and successfully gets service. The concept of kizuna is also very evident in Your Name since it delves into the lives of a city boy and a country girl. They even switch bodies to experience for the first time the country and city respectively, metaphorically connecting a thread between the cityscape and countryside of Japan, as well as their fates.Ā
Hetalia is very interesting since it turns countries into individuals, thereby characterizing whole societies of different people into a single personality. I noticed that this usually formed the basis of jokes that satirizes stereotypes as well as pandering to tropes specific to anime and manga. For example, Germany reflects the tsundere trope towards Italy. Thereās a scene where Germany kicks Italy out of his workshop after Italy becomes poor, but in the end lets him work and stay at Germanyās home while giving Italy free delicious meals, revealing Germanyās secret kindness. Germanyās secret kindness is also interesting since it conflicts with real-life Germanyās brutal war history, glossing over them so outright that makes it unintentionally funny.Ā
While reading Sensoron, I noticed connections to Gellner's view of nationalism as a product of context-free communication in a sophisticated, industrial economy. Sensoron opposes influence from the US over politics and culture since it sees western influence as a threat to the national identity of Japan. However, it can be argued that the national identity of Japan was never a long-standing idea or belief like Shintoism but was formed when Japan became an industrial society after the Meiji restoration, forcing more people to learn context-free communication to pick up more skilled work.
Hey, I really like how you connected all three works while still pointing out specific details. I hadnāt thought about the lunch scene in Your Name as a power exchange before, but youāre right, even something as small as word choice can shift the balance. I also agree that Hetaliaās humor stems from those personality exaggerations, even if it means glossing over heavy historical events. Your take on SensÅron and Gellnerās nationalism really ties it together, especially the idea that Japanās national identity is more modern than people realize. Itās interesting how all three show identity as something thatās constantly shifting.




















