Untitled

[rushilsood]

Hetalia: Axis Powers stands out for its unique approach at depicting world history through anthropomorphized nations. Each country is personified, often with exaggerated stereotypes, engaging in comedic and sometimes poignant interactions that reflect their historical relationships. This setup offers a fresh and accessible way to explore complex geopolitical themes.

Hetalia highlights both Japanese and global issues through its portrayal of historical events and international relations. In Japan, the anime sparks discussions on national identity and the country’s role in global history. By using humor and satire, it encourages viewers to reflect on Japan’s past and its relationships with other countries, promoting a more nuanced understanding of history. Globally, the anime addresses themes of nationalism, war, and diplomacy. The exaggerated characteristics of each nation bring to light the absurdities and stereotypes that often underpin international relations. This satirical lens helps viewers recognize the complexity of global conflicts and the importance of understanding different cultural perspectives.

I personally believe Hetalia provides an entertaining yet insightful look at history, making it more relatable and engaging. The anthropomorphized nations and their interactions remind me of the importance of empathy and understanding in my own life. By seeing historical events from multiple viewpoints, I gain a deeper appreciation for the diverse experiences that shape our world.

Annett’s analysis in “World Conflict/World Conference: Axis Powers Hetalia” offers a valuable framework for understanding the anime’s impact. Annett explores how Hetalia uses humor to address serious historical and political issues, making them more approachable for a broad audience. This aligns with my experience of the anime, where the blend of comedy and history makes complex topics more digestible and engaging.

Given these points, Hetalia: Axis Powers is more than just a comedic portrayal of nations. It provides a unique lens through which to explore historical and global issues, encouraging viewers to reflect on the past and its influence on present-day international relations.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey,

I enjoyed reading your post, i would have to agree with you on how Hetalia uses satire and comedy to paint the picture of the history of the world, geo-politics , war, and everything in between. I mean who doesn't like seeing a Japan make U2 Subs as collectables and market them, to have them have a final form of a giant Gundam like robot? While still pointing out the seriousness of WW2 , with Japan and Germany it still poked fun at all those involved. The lens this show puts on its viewer is a great eye opener to the past, and also helps with the views of geopolitics in the present as well. Good job on your post.

[aqua-dagger]

Hetalia: Axis Powers

Hetalia: Axis Powers this anime provides a different view of history by giving nations a body, that is demonstrating stereotypical behaviors from each nation, and looks as well down to mannerisms. It provides a great way to learn about history in very brief (5 minute ) episodes. It offers a different view of nationalism and pride, that we often don't see along with how Japan see other countries and even pokes fun at themselves with the whole marketing of U2 subs and having them form a giant mech. Each country was seen as a stereotypical, with Spain laid back, all Americans had blonde hair and blue eyes, Germans were very stern, etc.

The anime address the issues of nationalism, nation pride with the use of satire and stereotypes it portrayals. With Annett’s article “World Conflict/World Conference: Axis Powers Hetalia” the author points out that the fandom can communicate with one another to have an open conversation about what they have seen in this series. The article points out that yes, the series has gaps, or needs a back story to certain events, but it leaves the fandom the option to go into it research the event and learn from it. At times these stereotypes can be seen as crude, or just overly simplified, but it lets the fandom speak on why it was portrayed in such a manner.

I would have to say that this anime is hilarious, and i wouldn't say it was offensive to me. Coming from an Italian and Spain descent it was funny to see how the creators of these series saw the two countries, Italy as pasta obsessed and Spain as a care free spirit . It was a funny watch , now that being said its not an anime that i would clear my schedule to watch but i overall enjoyed it, even the English voicing was a great view, i just would recommend the Dub version.

[mochicrackersss]

Blog Post - Your Name ᯓᡣ𐭩‧₊˚ ⊹

The movie Your Name is so recognizable within anime communities and is vastly known for its beautiful animation and endearing story. So why the hell have I not watched it until this class??? I knew for years this film would be right up my alley, and I loved watching similar movies like Suzume, Belle, and Weathering with You in the past. I even know the famous end-credit scene where Mitsuha and Taki reunite on the staircase years later. So I think I'm just insane or something, I don't know lol.

The movie was super cute, especially with its time-traveling Freaky Friday-like plot. I found the main characters endearing, with their struggles and embarrassment to live as the opposite sex. I liked how eventually, the two of them began to enjoy each other's lives and even helped save it. And I always enjoy a story that mentions the concept of the "red thread," or "Musubi" in the movie. The idea is that everything in the world is connected by time and place. Especially your soulmates, platonically or romantically, are all tied to your body by an unseeable thread until you find them is super fascinating to me. It felt similar to the anime, Kamisama Kiss, where the human girl Nanami and the fox spirit Tomoe were bound to fall in love again across every lifetime.

I will add that this movie surprisingly was an in-depth commentary on gender performance. A scene that stood out to me was when Taki, in Mitsuha's body, kicked a desk to stop the school bullies from talking behind her back. Everything that normal Mitsuha has done, being nice to them, staying quiet, and not bringing anything up, is stereotypically considered a "feminine" reaction to bullying. Your Name tells us that being feminine isn't the solution, and to stop someone from bullying you, the victim has to reject them in a "masculine" way (i.e. kicking your desk or getting into a fight). Of course, this isn't 100% true in reality, but the concept behind it is seen in the real world. Women have been taught for generations to bottle up their problems and not cause a scene so they aren't a nuisance, so some close-minded people believe only being a man or being masculine will get things done.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey,

You bring a great point on how the movie, points out the gender performances in both Taki, and Mitsuha. Every morning Taki in Mitsuha body copes a feel, while Mitsuha in Taki's body feels embarrassed going to the bathroom. Or when Taki is in Mitsuha body he's being more aggressive than Mitsuha is. Or how when Mitsuha is in Taki body she able to land a date with his attractive coworker. Much like yourself i enjoyed the movie, with its freaky Friday meets the lake house vibe.

[aqua-dagger]

Kimi no Na wa

Your name

Just a small town girl , just a city boy, took the midnight train goin' anywhere. Almost, but this film was great, it follows two protagonists that happen to switch bodies Taki the city boy and Mitsuha the small town girl. Each day they wake in the body of each other and until they realize what's happening they try to cope with being in each other lives. They start to live each other lives, and communicate with each other through writing on their own skin or leaving messages on each other phones. Taki, one day wants to visit Mitsuha village with his friends help, but cant seem to find the exact location. So when there on a pit stop at a restaurant they are looking at images of this village from sketches Taki did. At that moment one of the workers told them that , that village was destroyed by the meteor shower killing the village population of 500ish. That's when Taki realizes that there not living in the same period but separated by three years. Taki tries to save the village by ending up in Mitsuha body, but everybody seems to look at her crazy. So at a moment of hope Mitsuha rushes to the mountain and tries to meet Taki. At the twilight of sundown, they were both able to meet one another, even though Mitsuha met a younger Taki who didn't know who she was at the time. For a brief moment they were very happy, that's when Mitsuha is transported back to her time and has to save the village. After Mitsuha and her friends come up with a plan to destroy the power plant and send a broadcast to the message for evacuation, the city hall tries to keep everyone calm . Shortly after we see the comet break and the destruction follows. Taki goes back to Tokyo and reads that Mitsuha town was saved due to their efforts, but he seems to forget all about Mitsuha and Mitsuha forgets about Taki. By faith the run into each other in Tokyo at some stairs and end up asking each others name; bring great closure to each other.

The theme that we see is one of interpersonal connection. In the opening it hints at this , with the ties we see with the red braids. But we see more of it, when see Mitsuha has strong ties with her family history of priest and priestess. While Taki is trying to find those ties, he only finds it when he looks for Mitsuha and her destroyed village at that time. You see many examples of connection in the whole film, you see it with Mitsuha father leaving the home, after the death of his beloved wife.

There is a significant issue with connections with the old land (like Mitsuha village) and the big city (Taki's Tokyo). Its relevant in Japan now, and the rest of the world. In Japan we see a lot of small villages dying, and instead of strengthen or fixing what's killing these small towns, more energy is investing in these cold cities. The same can be seen in the United States when comparing smaller towns to big cities. Everyone wants to leave the small town, and just become part of the big city, cutting that connection of small town living. I can relate to this , as i tried to live in San Diego for a couple of years, and after four years i came to the conclusion that smaller town living to me meant more. I had more connections with those around me, and i wasn't just part of a sea of people. Overall this film was amazing, beautiful, and had a great story line, enough to bring any avid movie goer to watch it.

[robian]

XenoBlade Chronicles 2

I've heard a bit about this game before so I thought it was an interesting pick for the class. The anime is a clear cut comment on the relationship between humanity and nature. Basically, Klaus destroys the entire world and is trying to rebuild it. He uses nanobots and the titans in order to achieve this restoration. Humanity is clearly struggling with the absence of nature and would have completely died off if it wasn't for Klaus creating the titans. Humanities depictions of Heaven or “Elysium” is basically just a place that has nature within it. After living in a world absent of nature, humanity's greatest wish is simply to return to it. It comments on today's world that is actively harming nature. It's easy to destroy nature but hard to rebuild, and once it's gone, you'll wish you never destroyed it. So, we should preserve nature, so there is never a point in time where humanity is threatened by the absence of it.

What's interesting is that unlike in Nausicaa, it seems that nature has no way of naturally healing itself. Nature is completely reliant on Klaus and his plan in order to regenerate. Nausicaa gives the idea that nature can live independently without us but that we cannot live without nature. Xenoblade makes it seem that we are intereliant on each other. Personally, I think nature being capable on its own makes more sense from a current standpoint. We'd really have to mess up the world, for nature to not be able to survive without us. Ultimately, our job as humans is to simply not prevent nature from doing its purpose and preserving itself.

Anyways, like I said before Xenoblade is a clear comment on humanity's relationship with nature. We shouldn't harm nature for our own greed. We are reliant on nature to survive.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey Robain,

I would agree with your comment on how Xenoblade is a clear comment on humanity's relationship with nature. In the game they had a great environment, before Klaus pretty much messed it up, but without his involvement he was able to at least save humanity. It did take his death to restore Alrest to what we would have considered a much better place. But just like in real life we need to protect nature rather that putting our greed first. And there's been plenty of times where this wasn't the case, the most noticeable one was the BP oil spill off the gulf coast.

[aqua-dagger]

XenoBlade 2 Chronicles

If we had 50 plus hours to play this game it would have been worth it. I'm a little bias on RPGs, they always have a great story line, and amazing character development, and depending on the game they always try to deliver a message. Anyways this game has a unique plot, so pretty much Mor Ardain and Uraya are the two nations that are at any point going to war, the game takes place at a place called Alrest which is a vast sea, surrounded by clouds, there's these giant being called titans on which humans live on, and the whole end goal is to see this place of heaven or as the game calls it Elysium that has everyone's creator the Architect. Over what i assume is hours of game play you go to that island, and meet the architect, which is named Klaus. He pretty much tells you he is responsible for the way the world is now, both the cause of the mass destruction, and how hes trying to better it with the use of nanobots. How he saved humanity by creating the titans. After a few fight scenes we see that following Klaus death, Elysium starts to crumble, and much like Neon Genesis Evangelion, they fly down back to Alrest and see that a new world or i should stay restored world is waiting for them.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this game is also very pro-environmental. Its a little different compared to Nausicaa and the valley of the wind. In that film they let nature take its course. But with this game, they take matters into there own hands. Klaus uses nano machines and titans to save humanity, not lets see how this all plays out. Which we could view this as an global issue, with all the significant changes we as humans are doing. Even in central Florida, if there's vast open land, there's going to be either a cookie cutter suburbs or apartment complexes. We going to have to intervein to protect the environment before we reach a critical tipping point. Hopefully its not like the one we have seen in Nausicaa or in this game.

[loquaciousstrigidae]

Worldbuilding in Nausicaa of the Valley 

I must say, this movie absolutely enchanted me. My weaknesses include owls, bagels, and good worldbuilding—and gosh, was this just excellent! The setting of this movie was so inventive. I found myself lost in the intricate, alien world that was the Sea of Decay.  

The sea of decay and the plants that live in it too are also clearly inspired by different types of fungi, which was compelling to me. I noticed that these fuzzy-tipped ones looked like aspergillus oryzae when under a microscope. I also thought the scene with the snowing spores was such a clever idea and added some wonderful atmosphere—immediately showing the viewer the beauty of the Sea of Decay, even considering its lethality. 

I think that at times too, the Sea of Decay often behaves like the ocean with its tranquil, silent landscapes and gently suspended bugs. Creatures move so smoothly that it seems like they could be underwater. I am sure that it took quite the effort to produce all the nuanced bug designs, but they did an excellent job. 

And of course we Miyazaki cannot have a movie without including aircraft of some kind. Nausicaa’s glider is sleek and a lot of fun to watch animated. Because it is so thin, it has this really nimble quality to how it moves, which I very much enjoyed. 

It is a personal thing too, but I have recently been enjoying post-apocalyptic/disaster world building. I think it is fascinating to brainstorm ways that humanity still survives against dangerous phenomena and finds a way grow along or in opposition with it. The politics that arise with it too—like the different kingdoms inhabiting this movie—provide an exceptional piece of social critique. When I described this movie to my brother after finishing it, I told him how I imagined Nausicaa’s world to have so many more stories. I think when a piece of media achieves that sense of scope, it has really done something phenomenal. 

10/10

[aqua-dagger]

Hey,

Much like yourself, i loved this movie, pretty much anything studio Ghibli. But its set in a distinct future, after an apocalyptic event, and we see that the world is new, the people have adapted to it, and more than anything its also a dangerous world. The beauty in the forest of decay was amazing, something so toxic displayed such beauty. If we had a movie just dedicated to the events leading up to the seven days of fire would be amazing as well. But yeah, just like you said, "I think when a piece of media achieves that sense of scope, it has really done something phenomenal. " i definitely feel that with this amazing film.

[aqua-dagger]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Bugs , Giants, and a Princess.

This movie follows Nausicaä, a princess and you might of guess wheres shes from. That's right the valley of the wind. It starts off with her roaming the toxic forest where we learn that the spores produced by the plants are deadly, and that within the boundarys of the forest are giant bugs that can threaten human lives. Onces she in the forest she spots a person in trouble, being attacked by a giant Omu. (giant bug). She was able to calm the beast down, and save the person who we find out to be the greatest swordsman Lord Yupa.

After returning to her kingdom, at night a giant airship in distress (being attacked by bugs) crashes into the cliff sides by the shores of her village. She finds another princess (Lastelle) in the wreckage of the war airship. Lastelle tells Nausicaa to burn what's in the ship. That's when they find a giant enraged bug at the crash site, fortunately before the bug could call for help, Nausicaa was able to guide it back to the forest.

The next day theirs an invasion by the Tolmekia, who want the cargo from the crash site. Which is a giant egg containing a giant warrior that caused the 7 days of fire. Pretty much hell on earth in terms of destruction. The Tolmekia want to use the weapon to take back the land from the forest. After a while the forest is enraged by all the human activity, a baby Omu is used as bait for another rival country to get revenge on the Tolmekia and retrieve the weapon back. That's when Nausicaa attempts to free the offspring and save her village from the massive stampede of the Omu . She frees the baby omu but she dies trying to stop the stampede. Just when the sea of red eyes and rage dissipates we can see our princess being lifted above these giants heads and is now resurrected. Just as an ancient prophesy stated, ending the film with hope for humans to live in peace with nature and to avoid using weapons of mass destructions like the giant warriors.

Overall great movie, now the issue that this movie shows is almost a message of anti-WMD, and pro-environments. We see how Nausicaa uses the environment in a responsible way, she studies it, and only uses materials from dead animals. She values life, and wants to save everyone, including the bugs. In terms of anti-WMD, we can see how the use of the giant warrior was a connection to an atomic bomb, a weapon so strong it would leave nothing in its wake besides fire. Everyone was against it and only the militaristic countries wanted to use it , not for defense but for power. This we can see everywhere , not just in Japan. We can see the draw backs of the use of WMD just like in the movie where the land was poison, we can look back at history in Japan and see the same thing in the dropping of the bombs. Or even looking back at Barefoot Gen with his radiation poisoning.

Very great film, and as much as i dont enjoy dubs, this was one of the few Dubs i can enjoy watching. I mean who can say no to Sir Patrick Stewart.

[mochicrackersss]

Blog Post - The End of Evangelion ᯓᡣ𐭩‧₊˚ ⊹

I followed Neon Genesis Evangelion pretty well despite skipping a lot of episodes. The show was confusing, sure, but it posed a lot of interesting philosophical themes of self-hatred and fascinatingly illustrated biblical imagery. I even thought the ending of the original show was sweet despite its suddenness. I felt the characters deserved to learn to love themselves after the hardship they went through.

HOWEVER! The End of Evangelion movie confused the shit out of me! I thought the show was done? Does this take place after his self-love revelation in the last episode or before??? If so, why is Shinji now going insane again??? WHY DID SHINJI DO THAT IN FRONT OF ASUKA'S UNCONSCIOUS BODY IN THE HOSPITAL?????? WHY ARE A BUNCH OF ADULTS SEXUALLY HARASSING KIDS???????? (Insert defeated Shinji leaning over chair image here...) I just truly feel like I missed something here. I still don't understand what "The Promised Day" means, who Rei and her clones are in relation to Shinji's mom, why those black armored soldiers are attacking Nav HQ, or why Asuka and her Evangelion are going berserk.

I don't know... I feel like the original show put a lot of care into showing their characters' flaws, but also demonstrating that these flawed people were born from their terrible environment. Therefore, if they could accept their wrongdoings or learn to love themselves and others, they deserve to live peacefully. So is the movie trying to take back their claim or show the other side of reality? Is it saying sometimes despite bad environments, bad people don't try to change? Because End of Evangelion made a lot of their characters into suddenly shitty, violent people. It's fine to have those kinds of characters, but not so suddenly with no buildup. But that's just me, and like I mentioned, maybe I missed said buildup in the show.

At least those white, angel-like Evangelions are pretty cool design-wise. I have no idea where they came from, but I like their wings and hoverboard swords.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey,

Yeah this was very upsetting when you realized that most of the characters were middle school age. Like you said they showed alot of improvement and character development and flaws from the show. But what im assuming is that Shinji's dad doesn't view Rei as a person, but a tool to get closer to his final goals, and the military was trying their best to stop this from proceeding . And there was alot of cool imagery with the Angels, forming up more alchemist imagery in the sky, let alone the trippy unification sequences we saw. But after watching this i feel bad for Shinji, hes a kid whose had so much trauma and everyone wants him to man up but he cant cope with he situation.

[aqua-dagger]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

The End (part 3)

Part three was much of a trip comared to the last two episodes of the anime. This movie follows the events of the last two episodes from the tv show. We see that after the final angel, humans are now considering using the evas to push humans to a more advance evolution called the Human Instrumentality Project. With an angel still in the terminal dogma, the head of the project Shinji's dad goes and starts putting his plan into works by using Rei. Shinji is still asking for help from a comatose Asuka. He is still wanting to act like he's lost, as if he lost all hope after killing his former friend who turned out to be an angel. The world government , now wants to stop this Human Instrumentality Project from happening , so they set forward a massive military operation, in which many are killed including Misato when she was protecting Shinji from the invasion. This propels him down to where his Eva is and now after a push from his Eva we see him try to get into action. Meanwhile we see Asuka excelling in violence, after realizing what the AT fields were and that her mother is watching her. Showing once again that she was excelling in her performance of hegemonic masculinity. At one point the Artificail Angels take over and destroy Asuka's EVA and Shinji goes beserk after seeing this. As soon as he is overpowered from the Angels , he was used in the Human Instrumentality Project, and everything around him is destroyed, people are vaporized, and the souls of everyone and thing around him are transfered to this giant egg, thanks to Rei and the previous angel, combining with lilith in the terminal dogma. This is were we see the dream sequence we saw before where Shinji and Asuka are in a apartment. Shinji still wanting to be saved, but Asuka isnt buying it stating hes just using her. Annd much like the older shows ending he comes to the same conclusion. Both him and Asuka are transported to this building surrounded by a sea of either blood or LCL fluid , and we can see that Shinji trys to play the hegemonic masculinity card but cant go through with it trying to choke and kill Asuka.

There was a lot of different imagery , both religious, and others symbolically. And the scene in the hospital was something i wasn't expecting either. Again the theme we see is on gender performance, we see Asuka who excels in displaying violence, and hegemonic masculinity, while Shinji does quite the opposite. At times this can be very frustrating, but we do have to realize that he's only in middle school. Yes he could have save many by acting or being brave, but he shuts down, which could be a result of trauma, and how he copes with it. This can be seen not only in Japan but world wide with how people are expected to act.

[pari-patel]

Evangelion Blog Post 2

The anime continues to delve into identity formation, human connection, and past trauma. The addition of Asuka is definitely what is carrying the show right now in my opinion. I find it interesting how, if a woman plays into this assertive, hegemonic nature, it can be considered an act of feminism, but if a man did it, it would be seen as patriarchal. It is just interesting to see the duality. The pressure of societal pressure eon Shinji are now amplified with Asuka’s presence as she dos everything that was expected from Shinji and also looks good while doing it! The intense focus on duty and the burden placed upon individuals is a significant cultural theme. Globally, the series speaks to universal struggles as viewers around the world question their identity and deal with expectations that constantly weight them down.

It's one thing to not live up to societal expectations. But, it’s a whole other thing when you actively watch someone else living out your responsibilities in front of you and doing 10x better. That not only hurts the ego and self-esteem, but just makes you feel worthless. I know it would make me feel horrible to see this play out in front of me. It would increase my self doubt and take a detrimental toll on my mental health. My older brother, for example, definitely wins at surpassing my parent’s expectations which puts me in a position to want to do better, but face the fact that, sometimes, I just cannot. To connect this to the readings, it provides a valuable insight into gender dynamics and struggles with identity formation. Asuka shows her assertiveness through perceived strength and Shinji shows vulnerability through being emotionally open. It provides a nuanced perspective and illustrates expressions of both masculinity and femininity. It encourages viewers to question societal norms and challenges them while also embracing the diverse understanding of gender identity.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey Pari,

You make a good point, pointing out with the struggle of identity in the anime. With how you said that

"Asuka shows her assertiveness through perceived strength and Shinji shows vulnerability through being emotionally open."

We see by the end both Shinji and Asuka have struggle to accept themselves and it could have been their past trauma that shaped them. I would have to agree with you on how this anime makes the viewer question societal norms. Even the relationship with Shinji and Kaworu stands out as we seen they don't share a very "normal" friendship by the standards we see with the other males in the series.

[aqua-dagger]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Part Two

Continuing with our plot from the part one, things are speeding up with all three children with their battles with the angels and the evas. We start seeing more of Asuka Langley Soryu and how she portrays more of the masculinity than Shinji. She pilots EVA 0-2 and a lot of times we seen her be more assertive and dominate compared to Rei Ayanami who is more introverted or i would say passive. This whole part continues to show the differences in masculinity. It shows how the females in the series, Asuka and Rei show more normative masculinity. We then have have Shinji who is demonstrating more ongoing queer masculinity, we see more of these demonstrations with the introduction of Kaworu Nagisa. He's a pilot sent to replace Asuka after she had a mental break down and isn't able to synch with the EVA as well as before. Kaworu goes on to support Shinji in his performance on masculinity to where you can see support for each other. They are seen in later episodes fighting each other as they head down to the Terminal Dogma and we see an Angel, Lilith, at that point we see Shinji kill Kaworu. Shinji is now suffering from the trauma of killing Kaworu even after he was told it was necessary to do so to save everyone. Lastly we see in the last episode that Shinji was given the choice of whether to accept instrumentality and have all beings on earth becoming one or to reject it and by the end, goes to on to reject it. Shinji comes to the conclusion that the connections we have in the world are worth it and that they outweigh the risk or pain of being hurt. We see him coming to a conclusion of him accepting hes not like the rest of the males , but by doing so he rejected instrumentality; that's when we see the world around him shatter and starts being applauded by all those around him that were ever important, you can see his deceased mother, his father his classmates everyone. He wakes up on the shoreline next to Asuka and Shinji starts to cry until she wakes up.

The issues it shows are the same we see in part 1 and affects the the world and japan as mentioned in Part one of this anime.

[robian]

Neon Genesis Evangelion Part 1

I'm writing this after watching the entirety of Evangelion because I didn't wanna ruin it by watching specific episodes. I'm also writing this early so I'm just going to make an educated guess about what part 1 covers.

Okay, so I'm going to mainly talk about Shinji because we don't really dive deep into the other characters until what I assume will be covered in part 2. Shinji is very different from your average anime protagonist. Most anime protagonists are seemingly always good looking and brave. They try to appeal to the watchers' desires. Shinji on the other hand is just a frail and scared young boy who just wants to be loved by his dad. Personally, I love characters like this. They tend to feel more realistic. If you almost died like Shinji did, and had to endure the pain simulated from the Eva, you'd probably be scared shitless too just like Shinji.

Also by starting off as weak, it allows more character development. But, to be honest, Shinji doesn't really have much character development (until literally the last 2 eps). Shinji realizes that he pilots the Eva to please his dad (hopefully this was part of part1 I don't remember). He even returns to his Eva after leaving, but he's still scared. Even though I enjoy character development, I think in certain situations, a lack of it can be just as telling. He's not suddenly just going to become brave and lose his fear of fighting in the Eva, and by this lack of development, it really highlights just how much he desires his dad's admiration.

Now, I also want to talk about how Shinji takes on more feminine than masculine gender roles. Shinji is depicted as kind and caring. He always apologizes and avoids any conflict. He cooks and cleans the apartment, while the women are depicted as slobs. He's scared to pilot his Eva, while the two women Rei and Asuka are fine with it. Honestly, I'm trying to think of a different anime that's male protagonist is like Shinji, and I can't (although I'm sure there's a few). It just tells you how unique of a character Shinji is. Going back to the last module, Shinji really challenges what we view as gender roles. A man doesn't need to always be tough and brave, he can be weak and scared too.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey Robain,

I would agree with you on how Shinji so far is trying to make his dad proud, and will do anything to do so rather than try to save the world from the angels. I don't know if its just a slow character development, or if that's the way he will stay as a piolet, when comparing him to Gundam, we saw a much faster character development, but we also saw more masculine traits shown by Amuro Ray. As for the women in the series, its as if there shown with roles reversed, shown as slobs, aggressive, confrontational, and at times not lady like. Which maybe due to their current life style or how the author was trying to make us view the way we see gender roles.

[aqua-dagger]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

(part 1) Masculinity

One of the most recognize opening and anime of the 90s, always a great watch in my opinion. This anime follows Shinji Ikari a young teenage boy who is asked by his father to piolet an experimental biomecha called an Evangelion. His father is an leader, of the survivors of the the mass cataclysm 15 years prior. The Evangelion were created to fight these giant monsters called Angels. In the first couple of episodes we can see the story follow Shinji, a very timid, and introverted, passive, what seems a "mama's boy", start to take steps to piolet the Evangelion. What builds up in Shinji characters development is how he's fighting the norms of what a male is supposed to behave like. The story will eventually build up to a more intense more mechs vs angels.

So what issues does this anime identify? For the couple episodes we just watched we can see that it is definitely about masculinity. In this case its about people going out of the perceived norm of how we expect males to behave. The case being Shinji, compared to Gundam, Shinji is much more reserved on using a giant mech, let alone the violence that comes with it. The only time he wins against the angel was when the Evangelion loses control and goes ballistic on the angel. It wasn't his doing it was just accidental, Shinji is very timid, and doesn't display what Connell' states as hegemonic masculinity. He doesn't partake in watching all the girls like his class mates were doing in one of the episodes. Instead he was just staring at a girl wondering why she was alone, instead of doing what most teenage boys do and look at them for hormonal reason. Shinji displays a lot of traits that can be considered far from hegemonic masculinity, which are okay in society, but in this series can result in the deaths of hundreds, if not millions of people.

Now these issues can be observed in Japan, the US and the rest of the world. What does it mean to be masculine? Is the bulky gym goer it? Is the gun nut it? Is they guy that serves in a first responder job or military it? More than ever these questions are starting to pop out. Is it a degree of masculinity? These issues can be observed in a lot of tiers in society, most people overlook it or don't show it but people tend to change their behavior if there not viewed as manly to achieve that view. Now for myself, i can't relate to this issue, in this case i kind of blend with the masses on it but i would consider this, in my opinion on how i was raised. But that can be different from people to people.

Back to this anime, its a great anime to watch, there's always action and majority of the time its more meaningful than giant mech fights , you have a lot of biblical references as well, which are pretty neat as well. I enjoyed viewing this anime.

[robian]

Convention Post

I've only been to one convention in my life, which, to be fair, is one more than most. In the summer of 2022, I was lucky enough to be able to attend Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California with a friend of mine. Honestly, in some ways I regret going to Anime Expo as my first con experience because every other one in the US pales in comparison (except maybe the NY one). However, Anime Expo was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

When I arrived at my hotel, people were already in cosplay. When I woke up, I saw a line for the bus and a ton of people were in cosplay. I actually felt out of place since I wasn't and if I went again I'd definitely try it out. Then when I actually arrived, I felt even more out of place, because so many people were in cosplay. Of course, many weren't, but the people in cosplay were just so noticeable. Maybe it was just luck or maybe it was because we arrived more towards lunch time, but we skipped the notorious hours long line and headed straight in.

Honestly, it was overwhelming, there was just so much to do and see. There were events constantly happening, and sadly I didn't know that many needed pre-bought tickets. I still had a blast just exploring the exhibit halls and Artist Alley. I think I ended up spending like $150, which I found out through other peoples posts, is actually not a lot. Some of these people are dropping over a thousand dollars on merch. Maybe I should start using that as motivation to do well in college and get a well paying job so I too can drop a rack on anime merch.

Honestly, I was super nervous to ask any cosplayers for a photo but next time I'm going to need to just suck it up. I did get one photo though with this dude in an awesome set of armor. I really admire the skill and dedication it takes to make some of these cosplays. I'll do my best, but I have a feeling I'll be buying a premade one in the future.

Anyways, the con was amazing and I'd 100% recommend people to go to it. When I went, the last day was July 4th (this year, July 4th was the first day) and the post con depression hit so hard as I watched Los Angeles’ sky fill with fireworks from my hotel window. It was as if the fireworks were a farewell or an ending. Kinda like how some anime end the season with a firework festival y'know? Post-con depression hits hard though, so be wary.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey Robain,

Like others have stated that looks like a very impressive convention let alone how jealous most of us are. That looks like an amazing convention, to be able to be exposed to that level of fandom, products, cosplay and everything in between must have been amazing. When i lived in San Diego i tried to go to comic-con and wasn't able to get a ticket but this looks like its on par with it. And to only spend 150 buck is a drop in a bucket compared to what most people spend on their cosplay, let alone on merchandise. But looks like you had a great time, now i need to find a great convention like that now lol.

[aqua-dagger]

Anime Convention

2009 Yasumicon

It was 2009, summer July i think, anyways i can remember me and a couple of my friends going to FIU for our first anime convention. Most had a mixture of being nervous and excited to see what all these conventions were like. Now during this time anime still wasn't as big as we see now in 2024, it was still perceived as different much like we've seen in the anime Genshiken. The term otaku was still out of or grasp, all we knew was we loved anime, whether it was Naruto, Bleach, One piece, D Gray man, Outlaw Star, Trigun, i'm sure you guys got the picture. We wanted to see what was the big thing about conventions, and it didnt disappoint when we walked through those doors.

We saw plenty of tables filled with numerous mangas, cards, DVD boxes, replication of weapons seen in different animes, shows, and books. Ohh and of course much like in Genshiken a lot of adult content. It was amazing to see all this under one roof, let alone many like minded people who all shared the same or similar interest in these shows.

We would walk around and see people in cosplay, and just be impressed at the time they took to make their costumes from scratch. A lot of the costumes we saw were very in depth compared to buying a costume online or even from a party city. It showed what i learned is called their shadow capital in their shadow economy. These people made that character their own, the most noticeable one i saw, even though it was super simplistic was a friend of mine choosing to cosplay Ryoma Echizen from the anime Prince of Tennis. Though this was a male character she made it as a gender bender type of cosplay making it unique to her, with her sister doing something similar as well.

Besides the cosplay we saw, we saw tables open to a variety of different things that were imported from Japan we see posters, wall scripts, the famous Japanese's soda with marble as the lid, all these things that were seen in some of our favorite shows in real life. Needless to saw we both bags worth of stuff, but looking back on it it was an amazing experience being able to buy a piece of an anime even though it was just a replication. And as cringe as it sounds buying a metal headband to say i was part of the Konoha as a shinobi. I was part of the fandom, and without knowing it an otaku.

Then we get to do meet and greets with voice actors, in a sense being able to meet the voices of our favorite character or in a sense meeting them in real life. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, they have a stage were they do a cosplay competition. They try to gather many volunteers and have them show off their cosplay Infront of a sizeable crowd. This seemed very empowering to those that went on stage. They were being recognized for their hard work, and character designs, many were Naruto characters, others Bleach, One Piece and even Final Fantasy characters, and of course more lesser known characters. They were all applauded and now realizing it they were owning there own piece of that fandom, they used it to identify who they were , not just in costume, but what characters they dressed up represented.

With out a doubt going to this convention, made my love for the fandom solidify and reenforced my love for the otaku culture. Now with it being 2024 i still watch anime, not just because of this class, but because i love reading or watching unique stories, and with the otaku culture becoming more mainstream i cant wait to go to another convention in the near future.

[kwanyoung]

Wandering Son | Themes of

The Plot of the Anime

The anime takes place in the first year of middle school. We are introduced with Nitori Shuichi, who identifies as female while assigned male during birth, which they wear a woman wig and woman uniform. The second main character, Takatsuki Yoshino, is introduced, who identities as a male while assigned female during birth, who has short hair and male uniform. The characters see that students are more mature and are settling into their classes. When the students are introduced, we can notice some have gender non-conforming traits (e.g. having no preferences wearing gender-matching uniforms), which shows how gender-fluid their world is. It also appears that Shuichi has affection towards Yoshino at one point, but Shuichi doesn't understand what love is.

The Issue In Question

As the two main characters are transgender, each faced some discrimination due to their identity. We have Shuichi who was made fun of at school calling them by "tranny" as well as locking them outside of class. We also see people looking at Shuichi in a weird way in public as well as girls being surprised and angry at Shuichi trying to express their female gender identity. Shuichi is also resisting to dress up as their female-self because they feel like they could be discriminated.

We also see a scene where Saori Chiba, who initially confessed her love to Shuichi, angry and bullies Yoshino because Chiba found out Shuichi expressed their love to Yoshino, effectively breakikg Chiba's hopes of having a relationship with Shuichi. When Yoshino wore men clothing to school, the school staff questioned them and Yoshino had to clarify the situation.

From these observations, the takeaway issue is that for someone who feels like they are another gender (transgender people or any LGBTQIA+ members), it is more difficult for them to adapt to society due to discrimination and perceptions.

The Issue Addressed in Japan & Beyond

Japan is a pretty friendly nation towards queer or LGBTQIA+ members, however in certain situations or in nations worldwide, there comes to be discrimination towards and the inability to adapt to society for any gender non-conforming people.

Discrimination-wise, there are a lot of scenarios of discrimination towards queer people in schools and even online. In schools or other professional institution, there have been cases where they would ban any queer education or identities, restricting them from exercising their identity in those spaces. There are a lot of people online who are sending hate messages towards queer people.

We can see that just like in the anime, we see the same issues in our real world where queer people are often called out as "weird" and also are not respected or thought of as unusual.

My Personal Takes

While I do not identify as queer nor is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I have personally seen a lot of acts of discrimination and bullying towards these members, however the worse cases I've seen is on social media like Instagram. Note that I am a straight person and I do not have the full picture of the LGBTQIA+ community, so please take my observations lightly. So like, there are people calling these groups, especially online in comments or posts, as "insane" and "mentally unjust", as well as hearing them talk about wanting the community to be banished.

I am not affiliated with these negative discussions but I do believe they are discriminatory and give an unfair perspective on these communities and people. Again, please do not actively criticize me in a personal level, like beyond this blog post, but you are free to drop your perspective within this blogpost. Please be positively minded.

[aqua-dagger]

Hey Kwan,

Just like yourself, its pretty difficult getting the full picture of the challenges this group of people, face, when being straight. That being said i do agree with you on being civil with this conversation and having an open mind. This is a significant issue of discrimination world wide, for the most part, places like the U.S and Japan are pretty accepting of this group of society, (with of course people that are opposed to them) but other than that there not perceived as you said mentally unjust, or insane. Let alone certain countries may go to the extreme as seeking capital punishment for them. But on the bright side there is countries that fully support this community like Thailand, which in fact has become more of a culture and is overall accepted.