animanga thoughts

I’m really glad that we got to watch Serial Experiments Lain for this semester’s last class. It was a cool show! The anime’s art style is unique and I think the bleak backgrounds really added to the atmosphere. It’s very minimalist, but it works wonders for this show.

I was sometimes confused by random, short sequences that the plot didn’t really explain. For example, there was a guy who was chased around and murdered (?) by a little girl, but I don’t think the show ever clarified who either of them were. Then, some guy killed (?) that girl in a game called Phantoma in the Wired using his handgun (no pun intended). Also, where is Mika? Can someone check up on her?

However, the moments when I could comprehend the show were good. I wonder if the version of Lain that is confident is a reference to how the shield of anonymity makes people lose their expressional filter when they’re talking on the internet. Also, it was kind of annoying to see Lain’s family basically neglect her well-being, except for her father to some extent. I did end up watching the very last episode of the anime, too, and it was nice to see her father talking to her in limbo.

My favorite episode was the last one we were assigned, where Arisu reminds Lain that she is human and stops Eiri’s plan from coming to fruition. It was wholesome to see Lain trying to comfort Arisu and vice versa, despite Lain letting her see man-made horrors beyond her comprehension, going so far as to erase herself from everyone’s memories to stop their suffering. It felt like Lain was more human than she ever was during those moments. Actually, I think they intentionally made it ambiguous whether Lain is a human, homunculus, program, or a God. In any case, it was awesome to see her putting Eiri, a false God, in his place. By all means, own that fraud!

Oh boy and I though Perfect Blue was confusing...

I do wanna applaud the director for doing a great job blurring the point between dream and reality to the extent he did because a whole driving plot point is being in other people's dreams BUT maybe I just lack the aptitude for deeper psychological themes because I was so incredibly lost.

With Perfect Blue you do get the same sort of dazed questioning what's going on feeling but it's not so jarring to where you struggle to understand like I felt this movie was.

If you subscribe to the Freudian ideology where dreams are repressed wishes that reveal more about a person, the idea of a device being developed that allows you to see someone else's dreams as a way of helping them could be groundbreaking however as was shown in this I feel the kind of invasiveness of this could only lead to bigger consequences in the future.

I didn't really like the way Dr. Chiba was fat shaming Tokita and also wasn't a huge fan of how she kept blaming him for EVERYTHING. Furthermore, I found the scene where Paprika is like ripped open to reveal Dr. Chiba on the inside- was really oddly sexual and uncomfy. In a lot of the odd dream sequences there were dolls or other child-like items so having these random groping scenes or someone getting shot repeatedly was a weird juxtaposition. As for like deeper analyzable themes I'm struggling a bit on that so I'm looking forward to hearing others thoughts in class.

In episode 15, we can see Squealer and his species worry about becoming extinct and therefore try to exploit the queen. They knew they were smart and believed that they deserve some power, yet the queen had so much and ruled over them unfavorably. I feel like this represents governments/powers throughout history: the government exploits or neglects its citizens and, therefore, the citizens retaliate, protest, etc. at the power's expense. The citizens come together to build power and make changes to the government/power. Squealer and his species worked together, forming a union, and tried to negotiate, yet they ended up trapping her and still exploit her for the benefit of the colony. This is similar to when the newly formed government reduces the power of the leader, making them instead a public figure (kind of like the president or prime minister). Then we see things like war prisoners, enslavement, imperialism/colonialism in episode 21, which we see in history during an overthrow of rule as well. In the last episode, the Squealer talks about how change is necessary, which I do think is true, but that the sacrifices would have been worth it if they had won, which I disagree with: in the end, people lost their lives. War and violence are the problem (I can see why Squealer thought they needed to resort to it, especially when they tried to propose equal rights, but to continually hurt the Queen and other species? That does not seem very moral). In the end, it is quite a morally grey area when you consider all things, though.

I think there is also commentary on patriarchy. The Robber Fly colony thinks that the queen's only job should be childbirth, while the "smart" ones should have the power. The queens are stuck inside (domestic duties, trapped in the house) while the men (I think) are free to roam and rule. This also reminds me of Japanese history. There were queens with power an extremely long time ago in Japan, like Queen Himiko, that people at first accepted as ruler; however, men soon believed they deserved the power, labeling women that ruled as evil (people believed that Queen Himiko had magical powers that she used for evil purposes as well), resulting in men ruling Japan. Then, they use violence, blaming the Goat Moths for shooting an arrow when they used violence first. This represents the common opinion that men often resort to violence more compared to women, like starting something as small as fights or as big as war.

Now, something that I find quite disturbing is how kids ended up having a child?! Like I think they are 14? Definitely an interesting plot by the storywriter - I wonder what the idea was behind that?

I think that overall, this anime is a commentary on power, whether its a ruler, and man and woman, magical powers, or the responsibility that comes with it.

“Wild Child” was an unsettling read. I was curious about the Kobe serial killing incident, so I looked it up, and it was every bit as disturbing as I expected. I took a forensics class in high school and we explored a myriad of serial killer cases, so hearing about Boy A’s case really brought me back to those times.

I like horror stuff so Shin Sekai Yori was an interesting watch! It was a bit confusing with all of the lore and episode skipping, but I think I got the gist of it. I’m guessing that the first PK user who committed crimes named Boy A was an allusion to the real Boy A that was mentioned in “Wild Child.” I’m wondering what the Death of Shame that prevented people from stopping Boy A could be an allusion to. Maybe it represents the former Japanese law in place that prevented minors under 17 from being incarcerated? Or maybe it was just empathy that prevented people from wanting to hurt minors? Also, regarding kids who become ogres such as the kid named K, I think the anime did a good job of showing what leads them to doing horrible things – not that their actions are justified, but it’s hard to overlook the probability that many of those kids grew up as victims in some regard. The anime portrayed these kids as neglected, vulnerable, and deeply afraid of the people around them, which I feel is pretty realistic. Of course, the Education Committee uses a twisted approach of destroying them before they have actually done anything (which reminds me of Psycho-Pass). Right now, I sort of get what message they’re trying to tell for ogres with Larman-Krogeus Syndrome, but Karmic Demons with Hashimoto-Applebaum Syndrome are still a mystery to me. I look forward to what we come up with in class.

The last episode of Eden of the East felt like it was something straight out of an action movie. The part where all of the NEETs worked together to plan out how to intercept the incoming missiles within seconds is like a visualization of people on the internet using Reddit to track down a piece of lost media, or something along those lines. In general, the appearance of the naked, angry NEETs were really funny to see. Something about the imagery of 20,000 of them simultaneously yelling and jumping out of shipping containers was so surreal. The scene where they immediately dispersed to the sides of the room when women were passing through, like vampires to garlic, was also really funny. “Don’t worry, they’re probably only interested in 2D” completely caught me off guard, too.

I don’t think I’m the only one who didn’t expect the ending to be so abrupt. I thought that I had watched the wrong episode at first but it really turned out to be the last one. I searched it up and apparently there’s a couple of sequel movies that follow the anime series. I kind of wish we were assigned to watch those for class because I feel like there are still a lot of loose ends that remain. What does Takizawa intend to do as the King of Japan? Who is the real Supporter? Is Ato still out there? There’s still so much to be explained.

Something that relates to our previous in-class discussions was Itazu’s belief that conspiracies emerge when a nation is weak. When there isn’t a physical higher power that enacts power onto the common people, those people start to make things up to fill in that gap, such as religion or conspiracies. Perhaps this is why Takizawa wants to become the King of Japan so that people aren’t misled by falsehoods any longer?

Eden of the East was an interesting watch. It was kind of bizarre to hear people speaking non-broken English in anime and even more bizarre that the Americans understood Japanese with no issue (but weirdly wholesome). I’m actually glad that they laid out the rules of the game played by the Selecao in one of the first episodes because it probably would’ve taken me a while to figure it out had they not explained it in a straightforward way. For some reason, I can’t take this anime too seriously because it feels a bit unrealistic. Morimi just trusts a stranger who flashed her, the police view their jobs as a joke, people aren’t taking any big measures to investigate or stop the Selecao, and the Selecao are so far above the law in every way possible with no meaningful backlash or regulation.

Regarding “Work Culture” by Mouer, it was disappointing yet not surprising to learn that postwar conservatives dismissed leftist activists, who demanded a raise in minimum wage and guaranteed human rights, as foreign individualists who did not belong in a collectivist Japan. Honestly, that is really one of the weakest excuses that can be thought of, and what makes it crazier is that the conservatives said this AFTER the war and AFTER everyone realized the dangers that collective, blind faith in their government’s right-wing propaganda could bring. I don’t know how anyone would actually believe them, especially in regards to something as important as giving people decent lives. It’s clear that their motive was to save money on both distributing reasonable salaries and implementing safety guidelines/enforcement, which are notoriously expensive to implement in many cases. What exactly was their argument? “Because we’re a group, you must be honored to earn less money (and effectively save us money but ignore that part) and be prepared to risk your life at all times!” Who would fall for this, genuinely?

Zipang P2

It was very hard to piece together a thought process considering the jump for today's assigned episodes, but I will do my best here. Also, I cannot distinguish the characters, despite the art style differences (Tin-Tin eyes vs anime eyes).

After the Mirai was attacked by American planes, the leader's resolve was clearly broken. You can't blame his mistakes on him because pretty much anyone today has never experienced WWII. While there were wars, none were World Wars. Japan after WWII had not experienced true battles, so the scare tactic to frighten with minimal violence was not enough. Even though I'm sure they knew about Japanese kamikazes and suicide missions, I don't think they connected the soldiers of this era had the "die trying" mindset.

Also, we got to understand what the title means to the anime/manga. While yesterday's presenter told the origins of the word "Zipang," hearing it from the characters was just as important. "Zipang" is "Japan" but the original name before it became Japan. Sort of like how "Peking" (if you are unfamiliar, perhaps Chinese food lovers can tell you about the importance and cultural significance of Peking roasted duck.) referred to the capital of China before it became "Beijing." While Western languages do not usually pronounce the words accurately (every language pronounces foreign words a little off, so it's kind of, not really, fair; looking at you, "bao-buns", "lo mein-noodles", "matcha-tea", etc.), how the show interprets Zipang is quite sentimental. Instead of becoming a country shaped by the Imperialist Japanese who do not have the country's best interest or by foreign forces post-war occupation, Zipang refers to a nation governed for the people's lives by people making informed choices in their lives. In a way, it definitely speaks against the State by encouraging a self-governed population, but Kusaba's vision is executed by dark hero's methods that continue to involve killing or manipulating people. In other words, he is acting very un-Jesus-like here.

Tin-Tin eyes, ok?

ZIPANG!

This show was really interesting. I really liked the intro and the outro too.

Can I just say that the premise of this show resembles an episode of The Twilight Zone? The entire time I was watching the first and third episodes, I was thinking "Rod Sterling would probably write a premise like this". It feels like the kind of story you'd find in a novel or a short story rather than an anime, and I find that intriguing.

The show allows modern Japanese soldiers to confront their past in a literal sense, both personally through the lieutenant and also by being transported to the Showa era in the middle of the war. While we've already seen many works that deal with World War 2, this one feels so much more direct. It feels like it's not only putting Japan's nationalistic, totalitarian past on full display, but it's connecting it directly to the modern audience through modern soldiers who struggle to reconcile their motivations with that past.

Kusaka feels like he will become a driving force in the narrative. His presence alone, just like the soldier said when he first boarded, changes everything. He is what anchors them to the era; Him and all his nationalistic pride, strictness, and hope for Japan's future power. It's why he's on the cover too. He's the symbol of Japan in that era.

When they finally arrive to Singapore and they're at the party/ball(?) Kusaka says that the wants to change the 21st century (something that is already happening, as he points out later). This is after he learns of the future peace in Japan and its lack of military power and whatnot. He wants Japan to be a militaristic superpower like the empire dreams of rather than the relatively peaceful country it eventually becomes. Obviously, the modern soldiers have a contrary opinion.

“Neo-Nationalism and the ‘Liberal School of History’” by Kersten makes some compelling observations about the surge of post-war neo-nationalist propaganda in Japan, and the article serves as a good warning before reading Sensōron by Kobayashi. Sensōron was such a disturbing read for me because of its heavy usage of nationalist propaganda. It almost felt like reading a collection of political cartoons, especially in comparison with all of the other more traditional manga that we’ve read so far in this class. The author depicts Japanese people as innocent victims of war who have been unfairly converted into “brainwashees” by America. Putting national pride above all else, Kobayashi completely dismisses any responsibility or accountability that the Japanese government should hold after the war. Instead, he criticizes the anti-war side of Japan for not upholding the same dangerous extent of pride. In one section, Kobayashi focuses on disproving the legitimacy of a series of anti-war photographs. And I get it – some war photographs tend to be more artistically captured to emotionally resonate with people while others maintain the scene as it is to remain objective. Photographers should clarify this detail regarding legitimacy when taking these pictures. However, I couldn’t help but get super frustrated when Kobayashi tried to debunk the photo of the baby being alone in a field of ruins as being fake. Like, okay sure, maybe there were people around the baby who could’ve been the baby’s guardian… but did you completely miss the part where the buildings in the background were completely annihilated? Do you think those buildings were destroyed just so this photograph could be taken? Do you think that just because this particular image was captured in this way means that other babies aren’t being abandoned in the war? Would there really have been such a massive difference if the baby’s parents were in the frame? Kobayashi completely tunnel-visions on one minor detail of the photograph instead of addressing the bigger picture that it was trying to convey. It’s almost like he’s saying “Wow, since this baby might not actually be alone, it means that the victims here haven’t suffered enough! How about you go get some more proof of your suffering before you can convince me that war is bad?” Just because a few images were “fake” doesn’t automatically excuse the Japanese government of their wartime atrocities.