The Anim(e) ted World

In Your Name, the animated pics, two teenagers who mysteriously swap bodies. However, when they switch bodies, you can see the differences between the two sides of Japan. For instance, in Mitsuha’s town, it is more rural and to me represents the more traditional Japan. The towns architecture, landscapes, shrines, and how close the community is to one another, seem to connect to traditional Japanese values. In contrast, Taki’s cityscape reflects the modern and fast paced environment that is filled with technology, which displays the more modern culture of Japan. I think these two settings equally get represented within the anime. Yet, I think it serves as a reminder that culture isn’t stagnant it’s more so evolving overtime. Thus, I feel like the film suggests that Japan’s cultural identity is worth preserving whether that be a more modern identity or traditional. I think it connects to the idea as well that we learned in past lectures, that historicizing culture shows deeper knowledge than a synchronic view. To dive deeper on the two main characters switching bodies, I think that the suggestion of this action is to further proof the idea that understanding Japan’s past and present is important for the protection of cultural heritage. Without understanding both sides of Japan, one would not fully understand the values that Japanese culture truly represents. 

Additionally, within the anime Hetalia: Axis Power, the tone completely shifts to being a loud, satire statement of nationalism. For example, the anime turns each country into its exaggerated stereotypes. So for Italy, its character is a pasta lover, for America it is a superhero, and then for Germany it’s an authoritarian character. These character stereotypes heavily lean into the World War II propaganda, and almost pokes fun at the countries for playing into the stereotypes that are given to them. I also feel like this anime shows historical nationalism due to the references of World War II, and it also shows the darker sides of nationalism on the people. For instance, it shows how extreme patriotism can be, especially when each country character is dressing up as the stereotypical citizen of that country.

Lastly, Sensoron, displays a heavy influence of traditional Japanese values. For example, the characters have to navigate the workplace hierarchies, expectations of professionalism, and out of work relations with coworkers, which are all deeply rooted within Japan’s corporate society. While this is a lighthearted, romance anime, I do believe that there are hints of nationalism within this anime. Yet, I don’t feel like it’s in a way where the nationalism is bringing pride to its citizens, it instead normalizes Japanese customs. Like, the characters never really question why their workplace is the way it is, instead, their mindset is it’s just how things are.

Nausicaa of the Valley and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 takes place within a post-war period in which the environment has been heavily damaged due to the destruction. These animes show two different types of human- nature relationships: those who live in harmony with nature and those who dominate nature. To better understand this relationship, I personally thought of the movie Avatar; where the Navi people live symbiotically with nature while the humans trying to colonize Pandora destroy and use nature for their needs. I think that both Nausicaa and the Navi have similarities in the way that it shows the limits of environmental action. Both do not have the power to actively heal nature by their own hands, however it is through prevention that peace can happen. They each allow for nature to heal itself while they take preventative action to avoid further harm on the environment. I think that this could be reflected onto our society today and what humans could do to improve our natural environment. We could possibly try to place limits on environmentally harmful practices whether that be overfishing, pollution, or forest fires, so that nature would be able to heal itself without humans trying to aid it. In both of these cases, it shows that this issue can only be solved through forces outside of humans aid; however that is not true. I think that while in some cases nature should try to heal itself without humans, yet there’re are things that only humans can help with. For example the plastic debris in the ocean, should be collected and recycled by humans since there isn’t a natural process that the environment could use to solve that issue. I don’t think that humans can’t do anything about the current state of the Earths ecosystems, I just think that we as a species need to act with environmentally conscious idea and clean up our planet so that nature can potentially heal. However, one thing in Xenoblade that needs to be addressed is that nature didn’t heal naturally, instead human efforts rebuilt ecosystems. These two pieces of media actively contradict each other when describing how humans could help the environment: one showing a more passive approach and the other showing a hands on approach. 

Reflecting on my own experience, I have been trying to be more conscious about the environment and how my actions affect it. Personally, I’ve been contributing to Project Pan, which is this idea that before consumers buy new products, they use up all the ones they already have. Not only does this combat the issue of consumerism, but it also makes humans more conscious of what they are actually using. For instance, if people are more inclined to finish their products they dispose of the container only. Yet, when someone lives in excess, the discarded contents are both its container and the product leading to more waste than necessary. 

Watching scenes from Neon Genesis Evangelion of the destruction and weapons used highlights some of the key points of masculinity. The inclusion of these b-roll scenes showing these elements continues the ongoing conflict of how society has created standards for men to reach. They are not only subconsciously told this within society, but also have constant reminders in their daily lives of what the expectation is. Also, what the viewer sees on the outside of the main characters consists of what society deems feminine and masculine, thus the anime shows the extreme performance both genders have to put on within the anime’s society. However, when we get to know the characters we start to understand that the female protagonist, Asuka, is exhibiting a lot more masculine traits, while the male protagonist, Shinji, displays more feminine traits. These details are stark contrasts of each other since their outwardly appearances are exactly what is expected of them from society, however their personalities aren’t. Yet, this isn’t to say that this is the only contrast between queer masculinity and “real” masculinity. I feel like the presence of Shinji’s father within the anime acts as another figure that possesses the masculinity that Shinji lacks. When they are face to face the viewers can see the clear differences between them; one is emotionally expressive, while the other isn’t; one is violent, while the other runs away from conflict. Again, these comparisons serve as a reminder that Shinji does not live up to the societal expectation placed on males and we as the viewer see how “weak” and vulnerable he truly is. 

On the other hand, in the later episodes of the anime, we see a different side to Shinji that we did not see in the first couple episodes. While at the start, Asuka serves as yet another character who is more masculine than he is, showing what he lacks as a man is possible for a woman to have almost makes him reflect on himself and try to replicate. Episode 16 plays an important part within his journey as he tried to change himself to become more masculine, however his efforts fail and he cannot succeed due to his “weakness”. Yet, it is when he is saved by the Eva, it is when he starts to realize he can find power within his queer masculinity. This idea only strengthens as the series comes to a close where he finally has confidence within himself and not conforming to societies wishes. His whole psychological journey can be seen as a powerful reminder to anyone struggling with conformity to social norms, that it is fine not to be “normal”. I feel the anime’s message to the viewers is that the more confidence and acceptance you have in yourself, the less you have to beg for acceptance or love from others since you find it within yourself: thus, offering peace for yourself in the end. 

Conventions, specifically those with a focus on Japanese culture, truly do foster community and expression within the one weekend it hosted. While I have never personally been to a convention before, the documentary has a detailed description and explanation into some of the events surrounding these conventions. The documentary mentions how important the internet has been for this community, which you can certainly see since the interviewees mention their own experiences with creating friends and their own community online. I think that this point is essential to the idea that conventions help the youth and even those who are older to understand that being a fan of Japanese culture is normal. For instance, it is mentioned in the documentary that when a cosplayer would go out on the street in their cosplay they would receive weird looks; however, within a convention their cosplay is celebrated. I think that since this behavior isn’t seen everyday many people in society, it’s deemed as “not acceptable”. Yet, I feel that as these people go to conventions and create an environment where there are others like them, it fosters a new sense of confidence and self-acceptance that wouldn’t have been there had they not attended. Additionally, I want to point out that in this specific documentary, the host points out that there are panels and rooms for people to learn more about specific topics regarding anime, manga, or Japanese culture. This particular piece of information was especially interesting since these conventions not only create new relationships, but also inform these people about aspects of a culture they may not know. 

Another interesting point I wanted to point out is that Dustbunny, a cosplayer in the documentary, mentioned how she felt like people who go to clubs are weird and how those who go to conventions are cool people. I think this shows the duality of belief since I think the most common perspective we see is that those who watch anime or go to conventions are weird. However, now we get to see the point of view of someone who goes to conventions and thinks clubbing, something that seems to be normalized or more popular, as weird. I think this is intriguing since it draws attention to the difference in beliefs based on your experiences in life, and how everyone has different perspectives and opinions on things. 

Conventions also contribute to youth culture in multiple ways: dating, clothing, and even their dialect. While watching the documentary, they have a specific section that focuses on the dating scene in conventions. The conventions provide an environment that can connect people with similar interests, allowing for people to connect with one another and potentially date. Additionally, conventions sell clothes ranging in genres from inspired by Japanese culture to anime characters on T-shirts to cosplay costumes. People buying these clothes at the conventions allow these conventions to influence their fashion and what they choose to wear everyday. Similarly, with the addition of panels with the focus of educating those at the conventions and conversations with others that watch anime it teaches people about Japanese words that they otherwise probably wouldn’t have come in contact with in the United States. These people tend to use Japanese terms to define themselves or within conversation, such as Otaku, which has influenced their behavior while speaking. Therefore, conventions play a large role within youth culture since they are at the forefront of introducing an audience of people to Japanese influence. 

In Sailor Moon, I feel like this anime strongly connects to third wave feminism ideas. For instance, Usagi makes it known that everyone knows her as a crybaby and how she is even calls herself emotional. Yet, one of her “flaws” becomes a strength when she is transformed as Sailor Moon and uses her cries as a weapon against the forces of evil. Additionally, while there are boy saviors, the real heroes of the story are women displaying a resistance to patriarchal oppression over women. 

I also wanted to point out something I saw in Aggretsuko that I thought was interesting. I thought that the anime style was extremely unique from what we have been watching in this class. I personally thought that this anime style reflects one of the strategies of resisting the patriarchy: changing the value of femininity. For example, I found that the style reflected a cuter and innocent nature which is stereotypically what women are portrayed as. However, when the any character expressed strong emotions the style of their faces became “ugly”. These “ugly” expressions allow for the viewer to understand the duality of femininity, meaning that while those who are feminine can be perceived as cute and innocent, they can also be more masculine and that is completely acceptable. Yet, within the anime, it is depicted that Retsuko’s more masculine traits of stubbornness and rage tend to lead her into trouble. In my opinion, I feel like this anime is reflecting values seen in both the second and third wave of feminism. 

The concept of gaining social recognition is prevalent within Naruto, but the idea of discrimination is an underlying theme. Personally, I saw that all of the antagonists all tried to use Naruto’s hunger for social recognition against him in battle. While I do understand that this was a mental strategy to sike him out, there is a deeper meaning behind it. For instance, Naruto’s drive to be someone who is social accepted stems from the issue of never feeling fully supported and understood by his community. Naruto’s actions throughout the series drives this home since he does things to get people’s attentions, no matter how crazy or dangerous they are, however the onlookers seem to continually cast him aside due to the chaos he causes. Due to this, it’s a cycle of Naruto trying to positively gain people’s attention and then him ultimately being left out of society and made to feel different because of his actions and past. 

Furthermore, the idea of discrimination is elaborated with the anime Wolf Children. The narrators father, the hidden wolf man, was told as a boy to never tell anyone about his true identity. Seeing as he was the last of his kind, I assume that his ancestors were killed off, leaving only him and his parents left. I think because of this his parents were afraid of the repercussions their family would receive had they revealed what they were, since they would be discriminated against due to being a wolf. This point is expanded on when the narrator states that her dad later went to live with relatives, who wouldn’t have accepted him if they knew what he was. Throughout the movie, the anime plays at this idea that humanity sees true identity as dangerous, yet it is not. In the case of this anime, the wolf family is made to feel shame by society pressures for this side of themselves that shows individuality. However, as humans I feel we only celebrate individuality when it is socially acceptable, yet being part wolf doesn’t seem to follow this trend. So, instead, they are ostracized from society thus showing this trend of discrimination within society. I will say that this anime does show the negative side of discrimination, it is important to note that it also shows a brighter light at the end of the tunnel: that being someone who sees you for who you are and enjoys your presence. 

From the New World, is an anime that I wouldn't expect to have a deeper meaning enveloped within the story. However, this anime showed some direct consequences of being monitored as a child and the lengths adults will go to know the children are understood and their behavior does not raise concerns. In episode two, when the team one and two are playing against each other, the viewer can see that even though there is a teacher to ensure that students follow the rules, team two managed to use these rules to their advantage and cheat their way to a tie. I feel like this ultimately displays that while the students are always being watched, especially within these scenarios, some students will try to deceive the mind of the guardian to make them have a better chance at success. Which teaches these students that even though they’re teachers or parents present to ensure the safety and rules are being followed, that they will not catch everything, and sometimes this bad behavior can slip through the cracks if not caught. Yet, later we find out that the kids from team two are not heard from again and no one ever questioned where they had gone, which alerted me that team two showed signs of violence and was weeded out of society. Additionally, the kids go off on their camping trip and find this creature that can provide information to them, however they find out that they need to be a verified adult to access the information. This is yet another way that passive surveillance on children can sometimes hinder their development throughout life. With the other example, from the kids perspective, it seems as if bad behavior is awarded and given equality to those who actually work hard. In this example, keeping information from the youth, can certainly protect them from finding out mature information, but it is just another way to ensure that the children know exactly what the adults want them. Therefore, the children are always being monitored even if they’re no adults present. The act of withholding knowledge from the children allows for the peace of mind of the adults is also a symbol of being surveyed. Additionally, it allows adults to catch signs of aggression or other negative traits that could cause them to become the “wild child” as referred to in the readings.