Blog for Class Purposes

Before watching the movie, the one thing I knew about Paprika was that it was apparently meant to make no sense and after watching it, though it was jumping around a lot, I would say the plot was not as convoluted as I was expecting. The reason why everything was shown as “trippy” was because it simulates what dreams are like. They tend to be incoherent and hard to understand. Looking at this movie from a psychological perspective, I found the concept of it to be quite interesting. There is a theory that dreams can give insight into suppressed memories and they can reveal someone’s true feelings. When it comes to psychiatric purposes, there is a benefit to the idea of the DC Mini. 

When it comes to the meaning of the movie itself, it is another distortion of delusions versus reality, which is apparently a theme of Satoshi Kon’s works. There is a link between movies and dreams that is being made in the story where both provide a sense of escapism. However, if drawn in too much, someone may get too caught in their dreams and not want to go back to reality or become unable to distinguish the two of them. It is important for people to realize what they can achieve in reality and not rely too much on the good feelings that escapism can provide or else it might turn into a nightmare. For example, the chairman got so stuck up in his dreams and ideals that he became overrun with both of them, essentially turning himself into a “monster” and revealing himself as the villain of the story. Dr. Atsuko was the opposite of him in the sense that in her dreams, she finally discovered what she wanted in real life and set out to get it, thus merging her dream self/alter ego (Paprika) with her real self. As a whole, Paprika was a great movie and its visual representations of dreams were amazing.

The last episodes of Shin Sekai Yori for me posed the question of: What is Humanity? It was revealed that the queerrats were in fact the humans that did not have PK. the Queerrats seemed to hold a level of intelligence that was just primitive of humans. They were created so that PK users could cause harm to them as they would experience shameless death for killing something that resembled a human. Squearer honestly had a point by exclaiming he was human at the trial. He was human and deserved rights, but due to the disparities between the PK users and the non-pk users in the past, the queerrat colony had to suffer. It created a cycle of violence within the queerrats and the pk users. They are in a constant battle with one another, each trying to have the upper hand. They lack the ability to find the middle line for them to coexist with one another. Even though they came from separate races, at their core, they had come from the same ancestor who was human before PK. However, due to the PK users coming to power, the queerrats essentially became tools for them. The thing is, both sides are in a battle for survival. Honestly, both sides essentially just suffered at each other's expense. It also deals with the disparities in power and how it can serve as the ultimate separation and divider of society.

Upon writing this blog post, I just finished episode 4. I don’t want to watch episode 12 just yet since I’m trying to watch all the episodes up until that point to (hopefully) give a better analysis of the anime for my presentation. However, just from these past four episodes, it can be determined that the characters are living in a dystopian world way further into the future. It gave me similar vibes to the anime A Promised Neverland in the sense that it is like they are cultivating children to suit their needs. Another anime it reminded me of was Psychopass in the sense that they are trying to keep the “mental stability” of the children in check. If someone were to show any signs of diverging from the norm (usually based on the psychological and practical tests that they put them through) they were removed. The kids are definitely being sheltered and manipulated as they don’t seem to bat much of an eye when their classmates go missing. Saki seemed to be the only one who remotely cared, but then she went about her way. In addition to that, they are being gatekept knowledge of their past, so they do not question the adults. This served as a double-edged sword seeing as the unknown piqued their curiosity further. I feel as though this anime serves as a metaphor for growing up in some sort of way, but I can’t pinpoint the exact reason why just yet. Perhaps it is from the manifestation of their powers being a symbol of puberty, hence that one mention of the bonobos.

Other than that, I kinda found the character of Satoru to be annoying, but apparently, he gets better later on. 

That was an interesting introduction to the anime and one way to capture the attention of the viewer (lol). I get that Akira had lost his memory, but him just walking up naked, gun in hand, and almost getting hit by a truck sent me; he was about to turn this into an isekai anime. Its depiction of America was also pretty realistic compared to other animes! I did cringe when Saki tried throwing a coin into the fountain at the White House multiple times. I feel as though that scene escalated way more than it should’ve with the introduction of Akira (Lol). I was only able to watch the first two episodes (again) due to time constraints, but it seems to be a story about self-discovery within oneself with Akira, seeing as he has no recollection of anything relating to himself. It seems as though there is a dystopian-esque setting at play with the introduction of the Seleção to save Japan and how they are referred to as “saviors”. While Akira is definitely the standout character of the anime, Saki was also pretty interesting to watch, but She did frustrate me a bit in the first episode over the little things, like why leave your suitcase behind when you could have flipped it over and rolled it along (she tried but not in the best way) and in addition to that, not question Akira more when he casually walked up to her naked. Clearly, that should have raised some alarm bells in her head instead of just “He saved me!” Even with this, I found the premise to be interesting and I need to continue watching to give it a better analysis.

In this second portion of Zipang, I was keeping in mind the discussion we had for the first half, primarily the question of “Is the show pro or anti-war?” I don’t think it is either. It explored the differing opinions on not interfering with the events of the war to maintain the state that Japan is currently in, the encouragement to change the tides to benefit Japan, or the middle ground of accepting the defeat, but changing the course of it so that Japan would not be as much of a pacifist as it would become, hence Zipang. I didn’t know how to feel about the emphasis on a more militarized Japan, which is what Kusaka was advocating for. It makes sense for him, considering the time that he comes from. Having a strong military would technically mean that they could feel safer from any other potentially devastating battles that it would have to face in the future. I mean if you could save 100,000 plus people who died and prevent those who are still suffering from the side effects of the bombings, the chance is extremely appealing. However, it presents the moral dilemma of time travel and the butterfly effect; how one small thing in the past can largely affect the future. The crew of the Mirai never had to experience war, so they had differing opinions in the beginning as they had only experienced the pacifist Japan. I can see where both sides are coming from, but at the same time, there is the saying a good defense is a strong offense.

Personally, I’m not too keen on historical narratives, so while Zipang brought up many interesting moral dilemmas, the show just was not really for me. 

I was only able to watch episodes 1 and 3 due to the workload of other classes I have. However, these episodes were interesting in how they displayed the military. I don’t think they glorified working as a soldier or anything like that. In my opinion, it humanized the job in a sense. There was the constant question of who was in the right when it came to war and who was the enemy. The main character also stated that his main objective was just to save people when he could. Some people tend to think of soldiers as killing machines as there is a moral ambiguity that exists amongst people during times of war. It is usually a situation of kill or be killed. However, I like how the main character phrased it to the journalist: “The difference between you and I is the uniform that I wear. I don’t want to kill, but it's part of the job. No one has experienced war yet and they don’t want to.” (definitely not the exact quotes but something similar). No one inherently wants to harm another human, but someone has to and if it is to protect their homeland over someone else’s, then the choice becomes clear to them. In addition, I like the direction the story was taking where I had stopped. The crew had seemingly gone back in time during World War II and they had to face the moral dilemma of altering the outcome of the war or leaving it be. It can show how different the way of thinking has evolved during and after the war.

In addition, the reading “Sexuality” by Saito left me a little confused. Upon reading, it sounded as though “Otaku” was more of a vague term that he was just throwing around to describe perversions toward 2D characters. What I do find interesting is the difference between the Western perception of otakus and the Japanese perception of otakus (based on our readings). From what I have experienced, when Western social media refers to otaku’s, it is usually just in reference to people who enjoy anime and manga, but it seems as though there is more of a negative connotation when it comes to Japanese people. This could be due to cases such as the infamous Otaku Killer that we had previously talked about in class.

Welcome to The NHK was something, to say the least. I didn’t really understand why there was so much distaste behind it when it was suggested in class after watching the assigned episodes. It definitely has its flaws in the delivery of some of its messages, but I found it to be more intriguing than anything. With Sato as the main character, we can see the anime from the view of a “social recluse” or a NEET. It doesn’t glorify being a shut-in, but it explores the reasonings of why someone might be that way. While it is mostly blamed on his unemployment, the reasonings behind Sato’s need to stay inside, he also seems to suffer from social anxiety amongst other mental health issues. He tends to overthink social interactions and people’s perceptions of him which he uses to convince himself to not leave his apartment. What I found quite ironic is that in the process of trying to drive Misaki away from him to continue living his life as a NEET, he became more social and left his house more often.

Now with the character of Misaki, she seemed to have a sort of “I can fix him” mentality. In a sense, I can see where she’s coming from, especially from a psychological standpoint. People who live a life “outside of the norm” tend to be intriguing and pique the interest of “I wonder how their brain works” but the “I can fix them” mentality tends to be toxic. While in this case, it could serve as a benefit to Sato and help him rejoin society, in reality, there are more nuances than that. Her use of psychoanalysis was also a bit questionable and Sato would most definitely benefit more from going to a professional as opposed to some random cute girl wanting to use him for a project.

One last topic that I found interesting was the emphasis on conspiracy theories. When watching this, I found it to be more of a scapegoat for Sato to explain his failures. He believes that the world is out to get him due to one huge conspiracy theory and either refuses to accept responsibility for becoming a NEET or is living in denial.

I have heard a lot of good reviews about Banana Fish from many of my friends and had sat down to watch it one time, but got distracted (lol). I actually didn’t know that it had a manga that preceded it. The most I heard of the anime before watching it was “It’s such a good BL anime!” but I feel like that comment takes away from what the anime really is. While, yes, Eiji and Ash seem to develop a relationship, the point of the show is not to be romantic (they don’t have the typical happy ending lol). I appreciate how the characters grow with one another and find reliance on one another despite their circumstances. Eiji is one of the only people to see Ash as a person, not a commodity. While they could very well be in a relationship, that is not the sole focus of the show. 

There is a cycle of violence that is prevalent throughout the show. The characters who are homosexual tend to have experienced some sort of trauma. While that could be a harmful presentation (not everyone has to go through these experiences) it also comments on the BL genre as a whole, which tends to objectify and fetishize homosexual relationships. This is also the reason why I disagree with the show being labeled as a “BL.” In addition, it shows how hard it is to truly escape traumas. With Ash, he still remains by his abuser despite his hatred for all that he had done to him. It’s difficult to how someone would feel in this situation without experiencing it. We tend to think of things in theory, but in actuality, who is to say what we would truly do in those situations?

“Kimi No Na Wa” or “Your Name” is my favorite movie of all time. I could just sit there and rewatch it as much as possible. From the visuals to the OST, this movie is absolutely gorgeous. If we didn’t have it already have it assigned to us to watch, I would have requested it for every class pick. Every frame of the movie can serve as a wallpaper and I commend the animators for creating something so beautiful. Ever since I watched this movie, I have listened to the songs and even background music on repeat. Mitsuhua’s theme is a particular favorite of mine and it merges so well with the “Katawaredoki” song, as they play in similar keys. There’s a sense of loneliness when listening to Mitsuhua’s theme as she is constantly being separated from someone she cares about. For both her and Taki, they forget about what happens every time they switch bodies, but their feelings for one another transcend time. While there are romantic aspects to it, it is more of the deep bond and connection they have to one another due to their fate being tied to one another. Even though they live at different times, they maintain this connection and desire to find one another, which leads to the eventual meeting with Mistuhua and Taki (years before the meteor strike), and her giving him the “red string of fate” ties them to one another in the future to prevent the deaths that the meteor caused.

The Katawaredoki scene is probably one of the most iconic parts of the movie. Fora climax point of the story, it is calming. During twilight, the two times merge and Taki and Mistuhua finally meet one another. A lot of peopleget frustrated with the fact that Taki had written “I love you” on Mitsuhua’s hand as opposed to his name, but it makes sense. She would have forgotten his name as the body switches to them are like fleeting dreams and it probably would have gotten erased, similar to the notes they had left on each other’s phones. However, since he had written “I love you” instead, he left her with a feeling instead, which cannot be erased. In the time skip, Taki had felt like something was missing throughout his life and we can assume that Mitsuhua had felt the same way up until they finally see each other once again in the final scene.

There is a lot more than can be said about this movie, but it is a little funny how we go from Penguindrum (a story about fate) to Your Name, which uses fate as a storytelling tool as well, but (in my opinion) in a more cohesive way.

This made me also regret not recommending “A Silent Voice” for any of the class picks week.