Untitled

Serial Experiments Lain (EP 1, 4, 7, 12)

I thought the show was interesting, but I don't know if I liked it. I was in a bad mood when I watched it, and I still am, so maybe I didn't see things right.

One thing I did noticed throughout the show were people's eyes. I don't know if it's artistic styling like if the animators/artist got lazy or intentional, but some eyes were very un-human. Lain's is a good example. Her pupils were super constricted and the lines that point towards or away from the pupils made her eyes seem fake, and not because it's a fiction, but it just made her seem unreal. Even in episode 1 before anything began, she did not look normal, but I guess that might have foreshadowed her origins.

The Wired scenes reminds me of 2000s movies that featured the Internet with the grainy screen qualities and the deep dramatic computer voices at the introduction scenes in each episode.

Also I wanted to point out that ominous shadow in Lain's neighborhood street. I thought it was ominous because it looked like a shadow from the houses or electric pole but the sahdign wasn't a dull grey but it had things in it that supposed to be either a void or a pool of dark things.

Anyway, I have no clue what went on in Lain's mind, but I know she's supposed to have traveled between the Wired and the real world. When she explains things, I don't know where or how she came up with the stuff. It almost sounds like she figured it out, but it didn't say how.

I am curious about what is said and found about the Wired. I know it basically refers to the Internet and its infinite possibilities. Even now we are still finding new ways to use it and open new avenues within the Internet for people to discover. But like computers, the Internet is a man-made construct. The things it cannot do are what we allow or have not found.

But that's the point of the Wired. It suggests that what people don't know already exists, you just need to find it. Instead of treating it as a manmade construct, it is an independent dimension that can only be accessed by devices (phones and computers, or the anime calls them Navis). And a Navi doesn't connect you to some location on your selected Internet. It connects you to your Wired self. Or at least for Lain, it did. I don't know what other people do since they are supposed to be "applications." Are they applications from the Wired that are opened as humans in the real world or the other way around?

I also don't know if it ever explained what the Knights were, or how the Wired or Lain is connected to the suicides, like the very first one at the beginning of the show.

I know the episode skipping probably skewed my opinion of the show, but I don't really have much of an opinion for this show. The confusion probably gives it complexity, but even in episode 12 I am still not sure what anything means.

-04/23/24

Kon- Paprika

This was a nice movie. When I knew it was made by the same director as Perfect Blue, I had a strong feeling it would be something mind-boggling, but I didn't expect to see the same reality vs dreams switching.

Now, we have only grown characters, though I noticed Paprika seemed to look more youthful than Dr. Chiba, but I guess it's a little weird to determine a dream's age.

Also, the ending was quite unexpected with Dr. Chiba "changing her last name" to Tokita. I think Paprika telling the detective Dr. Chiba to change her name might have been her way of letting him go without inviting him on. In a way, I can sort of see why she would send a note via Paprika rather than telling him in person when they are already acquainted after he kissed her when she was unconscious and without consent.

I think Paprika telling Dr. Chiba how it was the doctor who was a part of Paprika, not the other around, was an interesting idea. Unlike Perfect Blue where illusions of Mima are part of the real Mima, even if it's a delusion, it was more like Dr. Chiba wanting to become more whole by becoming Paprika. In other words, Dr. Chiba did not save the world by accepting Paprika as a part of her identity, but Paprika was the identity she was meant to become all along. Not that Dr. Chiba was the lesser half, but Paprika is simply the "other me" she has been trying to find. And when she is "reborn" like the chairman, she becomes the person she wanted to be not through Paprika, but when Paprika and Chiba fuse to become the light. It is not the darkness that consumed her but her own light that she already had that was able to consume the darkness and reset the balance between reality and the dream world. Dr. Chiba's choosing to save Tokita shows that she has become Paprika. Even Paprika herself said she didn't know what to do. Without Dr. Chiba, Paprika is just a shell. She may be a caring hero who can understand and help people, but Dr. Chiba is the smart one who can create solutions. Without the other, the two alone could not have won. I also like to think Paprika can be seen as both the standalone (given how she was able to travel freely in the fused worlds like she was familiar with them and when she would save Dr. Chiba in the real world) and a piece of Chiba (when she understood why she needed to enter the Tokita robot to be the extra spice to Chiba herself).

I also thought it was strange and sad that even at the end of the movie, we never really knew who the detective's friend looked like. I don't know who the Radio Club bartenders are, but given how they and Paprika helped the detective on the side deduce the meanings behind his dream, his friend's face is still obscure. I also admire how even when Paprika saves him during his dreams, it is when Paprika is in trouble that he can save himself from his fears. By remembering his past and saving himself by ending his nightmare his way, he was able to accept his past as the past. I like to interpret him changing his dreams as to how people change their own aspirations. It is true that he once had a filmography dream, but he "woke up" from his first dream and "went to sleep" into a new dream. But he didn't keep his dream as a dream; he made it into his own reality by working towards it and becoming a detective and a hero like his own dream. So, by entering and realizing a new dream he is both awake and asleep.

Whenever a character enters a dream, we can actually tell this time. The moment we see the inanimate parade, that is a sign that this character is experiencing a dream.

This is the first time I have seen a Monkey King character as a woman. Kind of makes sense because like Sun Wukong (Son Goku since this is a Japanese culture class), he represents humans and their holy ability to defy the social order, including the holy order between the elitist deities of Heaven and the chaotic demons, and it took pain and suffering to learn his mistakes (and a journey to the west) to not get or find enlightenment but to learn it by enlightening himself. Or maybe they just wanted to use his flying cloud as Paprika fell through the skies into a dream and gave her clothes because it's a neat reference.

-04/21/24

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.

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?

Man I wanna see the eclipse today..

I mean uhm uh.

Furuhashi was a neat watch. The whole conflict between soldiers of the past and present and how the culture and social norms of Japan have drastically shifted between the two eras was really interesting. Normally in this class the content we watch leans completely into one facet one the other, but this one seems to have commentary that connects both in a way that retrospectively asks us (or.. I guess just the soldiers) how to look forward to the future. Past motivations are difficult to reconcile with, especially with a country as notoriously militaristic in the past as Japan. I appreciate that the anime goes in neither direction as i feel that it is unnecessary to have another story that continues to point fingers at a "culprit" for war without any further and more interesting introspection, so the narrative being so grey honestly is to the anime's benefit, helping it stand out further amongst other selections we've seen in this class.

We got these two readings though, I think unrelated since Mr. Smith said some things moved around amidst the essay extension (thank GOODNESS....). But I was honestly kind of intrigued by what Saito was talking about in "Sexuality" (what a title lol) with the nature of Otaku behavior, and whether or not these traits are inherited or just commonly observed and stuff.

"Media Effects" was interesting because I do legit wonder about the effect media has on us sometimes. Like remember when President Bush himself was critiquing the Simpsons for portraying a broken (yet accurate) depiction of America? Or like when we bring up Skynet from The Terminator every time AI gets more advanced. There's also that time where Reagan was launching a space laser initiative nicknamed "The Star Wars program." Obviously this isn't the same type of thing Gauntlett was discussing but it's what popped into my mind throughout reading all this.

I had heard good things about Welcome to the N.H.K before, and I'm glad to say that I've enjoyed what we've seen of it so far! Something about the overall vibe of the show really resonated with me and I like how all of the characters seem so human.

One thing that stood out to me is the way that gender and sexuality is handled in this series. In episode two, Satou panics when he realizes that Misaki may still be waiting outside for him late at night and we're treated to this sequence where Satou imagines Misaki being sexually assaulted in his absence. He then rushes to the park to meet her so that he can protect her and her innocence (symbolically portrayed as a white flower in Satou's mental spiral). Misaki isn't in any danger when he arrives, and Satou is confronted with his self-aggrandizing image of himself as a protector that will keep harm away from the vulnerable women around him being incorrect.

Shinkai- Your Name

I believe this is the first romance anime in this course, and it was made quite recently as well.

The animation reminds me of Studio Ghibli's aesthetics. Even if you can't hear a word, just looking at the movie is itself a feast for the eyes. And the romance fluff was so sweet and breathtaking. Not to mention the anticipation of Taki and Mitsuha finally meeting, only for an almost tragedy to separate them was so scary.

I think the ending was more satisfying. While I would've liked to see them grow up with each other after the incident, for them to come back after forgetting each other is almost more heartwarming knowing that even if they forgot, just by crossing paths again they fall in love at first sight. Like reincarnated lovers can forget their past lives, yet the moment they see each other, even if memories are long buried, the love rekindles a long-lost fire between them.

Another beautiful thing I wanted to add was the symbolism of strings and life. Well, strings, time, water, life, and "flow" and "union". I know this wouldn't be a magical romance without meaning. I feel like just trying to understand it would take a whole lot longer and writing it would definitely bore readers. Still, I think the transitions between strings and the cords to the comet shooting in the skies seem random and without direction, yet it also has an order or pattern of nature it follows that is random yet brings a harmony that creates life. Scientifically, the random movements atoms have may seem chaotic because it is spontaneous. Yet, the order of each spontaneous movement creates a rhythm that leads to more spontaneity which in turn sparks a new rhythm of its own. All in all, the fact that their love is almost parallel and can practically explain the movement of the cosmos and life the animation showed after Taki fell is so amazing I don't know if my frantic typing can convey how it is seriously going to be stuck in my head all the time from now on.

If your lover/soul mate/not-romantic-friend doesn't write "idiot" or "dummy" on your face while denying having feelings for you, despite feeling lost without them, are you even in love? Not romance anime once again raising standards.

I also like how at one point Taki decides to be mature and not grope Misuha's body "for her sake" only to unconsciously start groping anyways. Arguably he is a teenager, but still kind of weird.

Also, this movie apparently connects to another movie, though the main characters are no longer the main focus.

One final thing I got to point out: the flow as seen through the diverged comet path. Watching multiverse movies, you know there are different timelines or endings. In this case, there are 2 the "good Everybody Lives/No one Dies" and the "bad, no beta we die like ---" ending. The comet has the main body, and then the broken, unforeseen part that diverged and struck Earth. In terms of endings, both the comet that went around and the comet that hit Earth are identical because ether way, Mitsuha's town got destroyed and the comet could not be prevented. In terms of what is happy or not, it's hard to tell. Is the blue comet that leaves Earth the good ending or bad? What happened or what should've or could've happened? Yet both endings are inevitable. Inevitably, the comet that didn't hit before comes back and hits Earth after 1000 years. Mitsuha and Taki may not have met in high school (or at least forgets each other) but they eventually meet as adults. Even if the timeline that Mitsuha dies in means Taki remembers her and they never meet again, they still got to meet anyways even if both get hurt.

I remember hearing about this movie a few years after it was released because that was when I started getting into anime for real. I thought, eh, I'll watch the movie after I finish the list (the day I finish the list and not add a billion new ones that would take me multiple lifetimes to get to, assuming I don't keep adding new ones is the day anime must've died because I would rewatch all the shows I watched up until now because beauty in even anime cannot compare to how it captures the essence of this world's already perfect flaws in its harmonious complexion. I now watch for this course.

This excerpt of “Sensoron” by Yoshinori Kobayashi tries to push the narrative that America has brainwashed the Japanese people after the war into feeling guilty for what had occurred and for the “crimes” that they had committed. Upon reading this, the manga itself felt hypocritical because it tries to brainwash the reader into believing that Japan was innocent and the victim of the war. There was no innocent side when it came to WWII except for the citizens who had to suffer because of the government’s choices. Yes, the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were devastating and severely affected the Japanese people, but they also committed heinous crimes against other countries. Some of my family members in the Philippines had to live through the occupation of the Japanese in the country. My grandparents (and some aunts and uncles) still hold resentment towards the Japanese for what had occurred. Many of the people there, especially women, were tortured, raped, and forced to watch their children die by various methods. The US also did not enter the war until the Japanese government decided to bomb Pearl Harbor. The pictures that were being shown throughout the manga may have been either fake or construed to fit a narrative as Kobayashi was saying, potentially from an artistic perspective, and in that sense, it could come off as propaganda that Japan was in the wrong to make the people more complaint with the US and other Western governments. However, I believe that the best course of action would have been to acknowledge the faults of each side in the war. No side was completely innocent and each suffered as a result of another’s actions. When it comes to war, everyone suffers in the end.

I did find the beginning of it to be funny, so I was expecting something more lighthearted, not something that would frustrate me.