The Blog Project

[jimmyanimeblog]

Module 13: Hetalia: Axis Powers

After getting to watch this anime, I can fairly say that it depicts world issues and stereotypes of different countries really well. Overall, the anime uses humor and satire to address various historical and cultural issues, but it does so in a way that can both entertain and provoke thought about how history and national identities are perceived.

There are a multitude of issues and themes that are addressed in this anime that are not only relevant in Japan but around the world as well. One issue that this anime reflects on is Japan’s own historical experiences, particularly its role in World War II. By personifying countries and presenting historical events through these characters, the show allows Japanese audiences to reflect on their own national identity and historical perspectives in a less serious manner. The portrayal of World War II and its aftermath in a comedic context can be seen as a way for Japanese viewers to engage with their history and national narrative in a less confrontational way. The show sometimes includes self-deprecating humor about Japan’s past, which can be a way of dealing with historical trauma or guilt in a more palatable format. Another issue that this anime portrays is its exaggeration of stereotypes to represent various countries. While this can be seen as a light-hearted approach to understanding different cultures, it can also perpetuate simplistic and sometimes offensive views. This aspect of the show can lead to discussions about cultural sensitivity and the impact of stereotypes. To reinforce this idea, in the text, "World Conflict/World Conference: Axis Powers Hetalia" Annet discusses that the anime ultimately "leads a greater awareness of historical issues and national stereotypes and things like that", emphasizing the idea that the anime advocates for the appreciation of the past and differences of people from various countries. In addition to this, the anime presents a humorous take on global historical events, which can sometimes oversimplify or skew historical facts for comedic effect . This approach can lead to debates about the importance of accurate historical representation versus the value of satire and humor in discussing complex topics. "Hetalia: Axis Powers" also depicts interactions between anthropomorphized countries, the series touches on themes of diplomacy, conflict, and cooperation in a humorous way. It provides a platform for viewers to think about international relations and the dynamics between countries, albeit in a highly stylized and exaggerated manner.

As it pertains to how this anime relates to my life and society, it puts into perspective of what stereotypes of perceptions that people may have towards other countries. Overall, the show enables audiences to reflect on their perceptions of people from different backgrounds and allow them to gain a better understanding of their culture. This anime highlights the differences and aspects of people from around the world.

[gatormyst]

Hey Jimmy! I loved hearing what you said about Hetalia! While watching and writing my blog I kind of forgot about the concept called satire. So, I'm glad you brought it up in your blog. I agree with you that satire in this case can be used to bring up discussions about complex topics, but as you said it also brings some sort of value to the table as well. Some may think it doesn't but some do. Satire can sometimes be seen as offensive (like many see this show) or humorical. Overall, I loved reading your blog and it was written expertly!

[gatormyst]

Hetalia

I have never seen or heard of Hetalia at all before watching it actually. I found this show to be kind of weird and I was like “what’s going onnnnn” multiple times throughout watching it. I didn’t really like watching it but I did like how short the episodes are. It’s a nice change of pace from either a movie or the regular 30 minute TV episodes. The only thing I found amusing about Hetalia was the stereotypes of the other countries and how it portrayed them.

I went and looked online to see what people thought of the show and some were mixed about it. Some people found it offensive with the stereotypes it portrayed and some people found it funny and didn’t really look below the surface level of it. I thought some instances of it were funny and others were most definitely not funny.

The way it portrayed America was funny to me mostly because I live in America and know how other countries think of Americans or the American stereotypes abroad. So, it was pretty funny to see that represented in an anime. One stereotype I did not find funny or like at all and found pretty offensive was Germany. Germany was shown as being sweet and compassionate and being a moe character. A character to make you feel for them one way or another. I think they were portraying Germany during the Nazi regime, so basically this anime was trying to make you feel compassion for a Nazi. Which as a jewish person I found just down right offensive and disgusting. I have very strong feelings about this because of my religion but even if I wasn’t I would still find it weird. With the portraying Germany as a Nazi the anime portrays Korea as a sort of “little brother” to Japan which recalls the time when Korea was a colony of Japan. So, this anime definitely has a more conservative view of things I’d say. Watching a conservative Japanese anime about this kind of thing was really weird and out of my comfort zone, but sometimes getting out of your comfort zone is good. I don’t think it was good in this case.

I have seen a lot of stereotypes of either Americans or Jewish people, but I don’t let it affect me. I just continue to be who I am and be my authentic true self. Overall, this anime was weird, and this is the first anime that I don’t think I’d recommend others to watch, but that’s just my feelings on it. It’s also the last anime of the class!

[ndsblog4uf]

Your Name

I decided to do this one last because I knew it was good and wanted to end the semester off on a high note and was not disappointed. This movie is captivating until the very end, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't watched it yet. You see two teenagers that both are deeply intertwined with their local cultural identities, so when the switch between the two happens it completely changes their whole world upside down. When the convergence stops though, both feel like they forgot something dear (which they did) with only a little evidence of that being true. In both they have pressure on their own life whether it be Mitsuha's father or Taki's male friends they both have a fair deal of things going on in their own lives so you'd think that the switching would be a great difficulty but they both began to enjoy the other's own live and the company they had together. Though I will say how is it that neither of them noticed that they were not switching on the same year despite going to school every single day (unless they don't make you date and name your paper or don't write the full date on the board in Japan but even then, I find it very unlikely they don't see what year it is once at all). Despite that, the story shows the power of perspective, the life of the country and the city both bring things to the table and so do both masculine and feminine traits, and that the combination of these two can do great things. This is shown through how much more popular Mitsuha becomes after switching and how Taki lands a date or how Taki’s plan and Mitsuha’s execution saved the town. It takes two to make a thing go right; it’s important to always get a second voice and remember the names of those who are special to you.

[gatormyst]

Hey! I loved reading what you thought about Your Name. I agree with you it is one of the absolute best anime I have ever watched. I really like how you said it takes two to make a thing go right and I can't agree more. While one could go through life alone without another it is much more difficult and lonely. If there is someone else in your life though it can make life more entertaining, fun, and just overall a better quality of life. Overall, I loved reading about the interconnectedness of Mitsuha and Taki from your writing! Amazing job!

[gatormyst]

Your Name

Before this I had never watched Your Name but always really wanted to. So, this gave me an excuse to watch it and oh my goodness I had absolutely no idea what I was missing out on. I knew the movie was gorgeously animated going in but it just blew me away and gave me goosebumps. I can’t describe how good the movie was.

One thing I noticed by the end of the movies was the connections between the people in the movie or the Kizuna. Your Name revolves around the two main characters Mitsuha and Taki. Mitsuha is from the countryside and Taki is from the big city. Throughout the movie the two characters swap into each other's bodies and learn to appreciate the countryside. Mitsuha learns to appreciate where she came from and see that while the big city is fun it’s not where her heart truly belongs. While, Taki gets to live in the countryside while in Mitsuha’s body which he has never done before. He’s always lived his life in the city and living in the countryside he learns to like the idea of a slow life. So, these two characters are connected by the countryside. In Mitsuha’s village life is slow and everyone knows each other much like a gemeinschaft but while it may share some similarities the village people have bonds and ties with everyone or Kizuna. They are bonded together and connected. Which is also the theme of the movie because Mitsuha and Taki are connected together although in a weird nontraditional way. Nevertheless they’re still connected and want to meet each other and bond. In the end of the movie they thankfully do. 

I can’t really relate to this movie because I’ve never lived in a village in the countryside. I grew up in a medium sized town with a decent downtown area. It wasn’t extravagant like New York City or something like that but it was a comfortable area. Now though unfortunately it’s starting to become more and more crowded and after seeing this movie kind of wants to make me move to the countryside. I’ve also never really felt a connection between myself and another person like Mitsuha and Taki. Maybe it’ll happen one day but it hasn’t happened yet. Overall, I HIGHLY recommend you go watch this movie right now. It’s so freaking good. The plot and the feeling of it are just amazing.

[mcdouble28]

Xenoblade 2

It's hard to view just the cutscenes from a game without actively participating in the gameplay itself. While I wasn’t entirely bored watching the cutscenes from Xenoblade, I just didn’t feel a personal connection like I would with  a show or a movie. A story heavy game like Xenoblade needs fights and side quests to balance it out.  

We start out the game with a brief history lesson. It’s revealed that humanity used to live in the world tree, surrounding by bountiful nature living with a care. But, they were forced to live on titans in the cloud sea. At the end of the game, we find out that a human Klaus destroyed the past world in an attempt to rewrite humanity. He believed that humans had made too many mistakes and ruined the environment. Klaus destroyed everything and rebuilt it using technology. 

What’s interesting about Xenoblade as opposed to Nausicaa is that this new environment is dependent on humans to rebuild itself. Because Klaus virtually wiped everything out of existence, real nature no longer existed. That meant that Klaus had to rebuild an environment dependent on humans. He introduced a cycle where cores turned to blades, which turned to titans, and then returned to the Earth. This way the environment could slowly rebuild itself.  

One point I wonder about is why Klaus would make blades so powerful. If he was worried about humans destroying the environment again then he shouldn’t have given them access to the blades, instead made a different system. It’s not only humans that have too much power, it’s the blades themselves. We see Malos fight independently and even claim that he wants to destroy the whole world.  

I am able to relate to Xenoblade. While in the beginning Rex comes off as a typical protagonist, through the cutscenes we are able to see his vulnerability and shortcomings. I think in the last cutscene with Pneuma that Rex is the most relatable as he wants to be selfish and join her, but respects her decision instead. 

[gatormyst]

Hey mcdouble28! I agree with you that to truly enjoy the cutscenes you have to be playing the game itself. Which is why I wish I could've played it because then you get invested in the plot and the story. I agree with you that Rex is the typical protagonist of either a lot of shows or JRPGs but he grows which a lot don't unfortunately. So it was interesting to see that through the cutscenes and probably could've seen more of during the gameplay and so on to get the bigger picture you know. Overall, I enjoyed reading what you thought of Xenoblade Chronicles 2!

[gatormyst]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I’ve heard of the Xenoblade series but this was my first time actually interacting with any of the video games. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 from what I’ve gathered from a quick google search because I knew absolutely nothing going into the show is that the nature of the world they live on is completely destroyed. The guy who destroyed the world, Klaus, feels bad for destroying it and is trying to build it back up again from nothing. Also from what I’ve gathered the video game series doesn’t have a single anime adaptation which I find weird because I know some games have had anime adaptations like the Persona series.

Anyway Xenoblade chronicles 2 comments on environmentalism and nature much like Nausicaa did but with some slight differences. Much like what happened to the world in Nausicaa in Xenoblade a great catastrophe has happened which has destroyed the world. The right response would be to remove humans out of the situation and allow the world to naturally heal itself. In Xenoblade however the world is so destroyed that it cannot regenerate on its own. So the world needs help rebuilding from the ground up again. That is what the cloud sea does. Much like the Sea of Decay in Nausicaa, the cloud sea covers the entirety of the earth. What we find out later is that the cloud sea is a bunch of nanobots that are recovering or taking genetic information from the titans to make new organisms to try to repopulate the world. The titans also offer the only livable space for humans to live in the entire world which is on their backs. I think like in Nausicaa, Xenoblade comments on nuclear and environmental concerns with Xenoblade being more recent of course there is still that worry. As when Nausicaa was made Chernobyl hadn’t had its nuclear meltdown yet. Xenoblade I think took it too extreme as a medium to raise awareness of the effects on our environments. Due to their world being utterly destroyed the characters imagine a place called “Elysium” which is their “Heaven.” A place full of land and greenery but when they actually reach this Elysium it’s desolate. It’s devoid of life with all the buildings being destroyed. 

I think this is the biggest call to our real world and this is the way I can relate to the game the most. In our world the continuous urbanization and growing technology is beneficial for us humans now, but what about 1000 years down the road. Will our world also end up like their Elysium completely destroyed from harming nature to an irreversible extent. (I hope not.) Xenoblades calls forth the need for conservation of our own world before it’s irreversibly damaged which unfortunately is not too far down the road. 

Overall, I wasn’t able to get everything from the cutscenes but I was able to get enough and that was good. I wish I could’ve played the game then written this blog but that would’ve taken way too long and knowing me I would’ve quit before I reached the end.

[studentmeyag]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

I had never seen this anime before this class but it had been on my list so I was very excited to final have and excuse to watch it. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a Hayao Miyazaki film that takes place in a dystopian world where the Sea of Decay has taken over much of the world. In this world humanity has come to fear nature because the plants and fungus produce spores that make the air poisonous to breathe. I found this to be an interesting perspective because in the world we live in, we have a lot of control over the environment and contribute to an immense amount of damage to our earth. In this world the narrative is switched as nature is the thing that holds the power over humans.

Nausicaä is the princess of the Valley of the Wind. Instead of fearing nature, like the rest of her people, she studies it and becomes fascinated with it. She discovers that the soil is wat makes the plant poisonous and it is later revealed that the reason that the world was made so hard to live in is because of humans in the past. The ancestors of the people who live there now polluted the Earth to the point that nature had to evolve to combat humanity. The Sea of Decay is no longer seen as a bad thing that needs to be feared, it is something that humans created by mistreating the planet.

The anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a cautionary tale of what could happen if we don’t start taking serious steps to improving things like climate change and pollution. Overall, it is a great film with beautiful animation. It is full of messages about the environment that remain extremely relevant to this day.

[gatormyst]

Hey! I loved reading your analysis of Nausicaa! I agree with you that everyone was afraid of the jungle or the sea of decay because they only knew it as poisonous and never knew the real reason why it was so polluted. I think that if they knew they wouldn't have been afraid as Nausicaa was like you said. I find that like you said Nausicaa studying the Sea of Decay was unique because everyone else was just worrying about their survival. While she was trying to find a cure for her father's illness that had bedridden him. Overall, I loved reading your analysis on Nausicaa and found it to be very interesting!

[gatormyst]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

This was my first time viewing Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and it was a gorgeous and enjoyable movie to watch. I knew going in that it was a Studio Ghibli film as I’ve seen it numerous times on HBO but just never watched it and I never knew what I was missing out on. The animation as always was flawless and the story was amazing as well. The music by Joe Hisaishi was absolutely incredible. It gave me goosebumps while watching the movie. I think Nausicaa definitely went into the theme of environmentalism.

Nausicaa first and foremost was definitely a movie about environmentalism. The world is set one thousand years after the world was scorched and polluted by these giant warriors that were the epitome of mass destruction. Due to this pollution caused by the giants the world started growing these jungles to start to repurify the world. Only thing is that the jungles were highly toxic to people because it was sucking up the pollution from the ground which made the plants themselves toxic. As Nausicaa said in the beginning of the movie “If not for my mask…my lungs would decay in five minutes.” This line gives us an idea of just how poisonous the jungle is to humans. The jungle also has these absolutely gargantuan bugs that protect the forest from the humans. The biggest of them all are called Ohm. 

Nausicaa grew up in the valley of the wind which always has a constant breeze through it so they never get the poisonous spores. This way the people of the valley learned to live with nature more so than other nations. The people of the valley learned how to use the earth to their advantage mostly to grow food and they also use a lot of tools that come from the earth. Not a lot of metal. Unlike the Tolmekians who had many airships made out of metal, their armor was made of metal, virtually everything the Tolmekians used were metal and they wanted to rule the earth rather than live in peace with it like the people of the valley. So, both of these societies show different stances on human involvement with nature. One wants to rule it and destroy it and the other one wants to live with it in peace and harmony. I believe that the overall message is to leave nature alone to do its own thing. To heal itself. In the movie Nausicaa didn’t really do anything to help the environment, to help the jungle besides trying to keep the other humans from destroying it. Which thankfully she succeeded in. 

I can relate to Nausicaa in some ways because I have always cared about the environment and about nature and it always breaks my heart when I see pollution or people just not caring about the environment in general just as much as Nausicaa did. Just like Nausicaa I try to get people to do the right thing with the environment but it doesn’t always happen which can also be seen in the movie. I try to live by this quote by Robert Baden-Powell “Try and leave this world a little better than you found it.” If it's with environmentalism or nature or anything really just leave this world a little better than you found it. Overall, this movie was amazing and I’d definitely recommend you go watch it.

[n4stasia]

End of Evangelion | pt.3

Yay, part 3 of the iceberg. Finally. I had to dive into an extensive web research in order to make at least some sense of it. I don't know if that made it better or worse, though. It's a rabbit hole.

the end vol. 1

So what about last two episodes? .. Shinji finds himself alone with his problems after a literal apocalypse. Gradually, he overcomes them and, like the protagonist of Trainspotting, decides to choose life. And this kinda restored the world around him to existence.

Hideaki Anno largely based Evangelion on his personal experiences and struggle with depression. Creating the series was difficult work for him, and there were many obstacles along the way, but Anno saw the light at the end of the tunnel and ended the series on a positive note. And the fans HATED this ending. They were not satisfied with the experimental style of the last two episodes. They didn't want these existential crises of Shinji. They wanted something else. They wanted more giant robot battles, they wanted sexy Asuka and Rei in their latex pilot suits. Overall, fans clearly wanted the first half of the show, not the second.

And Hideaki Anno climbed a mountain in front of all the fans and showed them all a big middle finger. This is the most accurate metaphor that can be thought of for the End of Evangelion.

the end vol. 2

End of Evangelion begins with Shinji masturbating over the comatose body of Asuka. And that's just the beginning. The movie starts somewhere after the events of the 24th episode. The NERV headquarters is attacked by the armed forces of SEELE (a secret organization that supposedly funds NERV and even rules the world, or something like that). And our heroes try to fight back.

That's... almost all that happens in the movie. Yes, there is very little plot here. NERV headquarters is under constant siege for half of its screen time, and the other half... something happens. We just watch as the characters we've grown to love are mercilessly and bloodily killed one by one. And if they're not killed, they turn out to be hellish bastards. Gendo, for example, grabs Asuka's bare chest. :/

Shinji doesn't overcome depression, but rather chooses to be crushed and smashed by it. He is miserable, useless, apathetic piece of his former self, who, alas, is needed by everyone for salvation. This is almost the complete opposite of what happened to him in the series finale.

my head hurts

Both movie and the series leave a very nasty feeling in your soul after its ending. One of the most unpleasant films I've ever seen in my life. I want to wash my brain inside out. Yes, it's unique and explores gender issues, depression, loneliness and whatever. But it triggered a migraine episode and mild existential crisis for me so there is that.

The End

[gatormyst]

Hey! I agree with you that there wasn't a lot of plot here, but I think that was an intentional choice from the director. I don't know what the director was thinking but it was definitely something to give us a headache as you said. The movie was also very bloody which I think was an intentional choice. We see the employees of NERV being slaughtered by the SEELE guys because the NERV employees aren't used to fighting other humans. We can see that when in the control room the female employee says she can't shoot a gun at real life humans. Overall, I loved reading your analysis and take on The End of Evangelion even if it did give us headaches and make us question our own reality.

[gatormyst]

The End Of Evangelion

I…I don’t know what I really watched there. I had to physically move my computer back away from my face because of how confusing and just absurd I guess this movie was. It’s so hard to describe this movie. The best way is to just watch it yourself. Going in all I knew was that it was an alternate ending to episode 25 and 26 so it took place right after Kaworu was killed by Shinji. 

So, the first half of the movie wasn’t too terribly weird besides Shinji yanking it to a comatose Asuka in the hospital. I found that weird and disturbing. It actually caught me so off-guard I paused the movie to take a breather. Within the first 15 minutes of the movie. After this Shinji is hating himself even more and what does he do best? He completely and utterly shuts down and hides in a corner. When the NERV HQ is being attacked by SEELE (some super-secret organization) he still just hides in the corner and doesn’t move at ALL. Even when a pistol is pressed against his forehead and his brains are about to be splattered across the wall. All this self-hatred and loathing is because he still feels like he doesn’t fit in with the hegemonic masculinity society which is true because he doesn’t. The rejection from everybody else of his queer masculinity just makes him go insane I guess. Especially because he just killed the one person who showed and shared the same queer masculinity as he did (since it takes place right after he killed him). So, because of that Shinji is beyond messed up in the head. 

The second half or like last third of the movie was a fever dream.  I honestly had no idea what was happening for most of it. I was just along for the ride. I know Shinji tried to strangle Asuka because her hegemonic masculine traits were beating down on his queer masculine traits in the scene and he just snapped. He went full on crazy, flipping a table, throwing and smashing chairs and finally strangling Asuka as Pen Pen watched from behind the doorway. This was Shinji finally showcasing his acts of violence, finally showcasing his hegemonic masculinity. Trying to become dominant when most of the time he’s been not as dominant or kind of subservient. I don’t even know what happens next there’s Rei who fuses with that giant white guy who was crucified over the water and then she becomes it and everybody on earth dies and becomes one body and mind. No psychological walls between them so you can’t tell where one person starts or ends. I was just confused and had to go with the flow for it. Then finally he rejects it saying that he doesn’t like it and wants to go back to the way it was before even if he does get hurt. That’s what ends up happening. Shinji and Asuka wake up on the beach and he strangles her immediately but she caresses his face and gets him to stop then calls him disgusting. The movie ends there.

It was a wild ride for this movie and I don’t know if I can relate to a single part of it. I’ve never really been depressed to the point Shinji has in this movie. I mean I’ve been sad but never THAT depressed. I really felt for Shinji even if it was hard to relate to him. Overall, this movie was weirdddddddddd and that’s all I can really say about it. If you’re an evangelion fan you should definitely watch it because it's interesting to see the alternative ending than what was in the show.

[julietv09]

Neon Genesis Evangelion Pt.2

I thought I understood why the Evangelion worked, but part 2 of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” really confused me. I did not understand how the Evangelion went rogue and seemed like an angel at times. These episodes in part 2 were definitely more confusing and complex.

In part 2, we can see the mental health of the pilots decay slowly. When Shinji gets stuck in the shadow, we can see him start to spiral about his father and mother. His panic was due to being alone in his own thoughts, but he was able to overcome these mental blocks and break through the orb.

Episode 26 really confused me. I am not sure if it is because we skipped episodes or if it was just confusing in general. It just flashed between reality or an alternate universe. I understand it was Shinji’s thoughts but I could not tell when it became real or if any of it was real.

In the last episode, he is thinking about his feelings and we can see the different characters telling him how he should feel. It was kinda like the angel and the devil on your shoulder analogy. It also showed how Shinji was not the only one struggling mentally. This need to have someone understand you is why Shinji so easily trusted the undercover angel. He felt a connection and needed someone to lean on. Each character had some reason to why they we not happy and I believe this is why they were chosen to pilot the Evangelion. The pilots need a purpose and piloting the Evangelion is what gives them that sense of life. Becoming a pilot, gave each of them something to be motivated by and work hard for.

To reiterate, I am not sure what really happened in the last episode and hopefully “The End of Evangelion” further explains what is happening.

[gatormyst]

Hey Julie! I agree with you that episode 26 was very confusing and I also had no idea what was going on. I was sitting there watching it going what is happening here. I just kind of went with the flow and realized that last episode was all in Shinji's head. Still very confusing nonetheless. I liked how you used the angel and devil on your shoulder analogy to describe what Shinji was going through with the different characters telling him how to feel. I believe what your saying is that in Evangelion it wasn't just about the different types of masculinities but also about the mental health of the characters. Which I noticed as well throughout the show. Overall, I loved reading your take and analysis!

[gatormyst]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 2)

Part 2 of Evangelion was a continuation of part 1. Part 2 for me was a bit more confusing as we had to skip over a lot of episodes. So, during the episodes I was confused trying to piece together what had happened in the previous episodes I didn’t watch. Nonetheless, this anime is still dealing with masculinity.

In the first episode of part 2 we're introduced to a new character named Asuka. Asuka is a girl from Germany who is very confident. When she learns that Shinji is the third child she starts boasting about how she is such a good pilot and goes on and on. In this episode Asuka is showing her hegemonic masculinity even though she is female. She’s boasting and trying to put herself on top of Shinji. She shows off these hegemonic masculine traits even more when she is in the Eva fighting the angel in the middle of the ocean effortlessly hopping from ship to ship and had no problem committing acts of violence against the angel. 

The next episode is quite the opposite with Shinji. In this episode Shinji decides he’s going to get over his queer masculinity and start participating in the hegemonic masculinity like society wants him to, but for him it doesn’t go so well. In this episode an Angel appeared, so Shinji and Asuka were dispatched to deal with it. So, Shinji says in a very confident and masculine way saying that fighting is a man's job. As he’s fighting it he realizes his tactics won’t work as the angel has no real form for him to attack. He gets sucked into the black goo or shadow and all he can do is curl up in the fetal position in the LCL fluid/liquid and wait for the women to come rescue him. With this he has failed to demonstrate the hegemonic masculinity and was forced back into the queer masculinity that we saw from him originally. Then the Eva goes berserk and breaks out of the Angel.

We then finally are introduced to Kaworu who has queer masculinity just like Shinji does. Kaworu makes Shinji feel like he’s not alone; that he’s not isolated. This draws Shinji to Kaworu. It turns out though that Kaworu is an Angel and Shinji has to fight him and kill him. He struggled with this decision for a very long time, but ultimately decided to do the right thing and kill Kaworu. Doing so hurt Shinji because he finally found someone who showed him that queer masculine traits could fit in with a hegemonic masculine society. 

I can relate to Shinji in the episodes we watched, because in my life I have tried to act all tough and more masculine than I was but it failed for me much like it did Shinji. I was tired of being mocked and teased by my friends so I wanted to act tougher so they couldn’t tease me anymore but it ultimately came crashing down around me revealing the traits I had before. Which is kind of what happened with Shinji, just not in a very dramatic way. Overall, I would recommend watching this anime but don’t skip episodes and watch it all the way through. That's the only way to truly understand and appreciate the show. That’s why I’m going to go back and watch all of the episodes.

[whisperingwisterias]

Neon Genesis Evangelion Part 1 and Subverting Masculine Stereotypes

While on the surface Evangelion may be a coming-of-age story set in the popular giant robot genre, by looking closer we can see that the anime actually makes a commentary on how masculinity is perceived or expected to be shown by society through Shinji, a boy who does not fall under traditional, hegemonic masculinity but is still called to a role that wants him to act that way.

Hegemonic masculinity would say that to be a man is to be comfortable with using violence as a solution to problems, which we see right from the beginning of the show. When the angel begins to attack the city, those in charge try to fight back with their own weapons, but with every failed attempt they try something bigger and more destructive, until they are almost causing more destruction to the city themselves than the angel in trying to subdue it. In contrast, we have Shinji, who, when enlisted by his father to pilot a weapon called the Evangelion, refuses because he does not want to fight. He does not find the idea of violence cool or exciting, and only agrees to pilot the weapon when he realizes that if he doesn’t, they would have made an injured girl pilot it instead. We see Shinji’s contrast from traditional masculinity again when he is talked with a classmate who, unlike Shinji, is enamored with the idea of piloting the Evangelion and how cool it would be, while Shinji is focused on how worried the boy’s family would be if he had been the pilot instead.

Shinji also strays from hegemonic masculinity in how he views women. In the first episode he has a picture of Katsuragi to identify her when she picks him up, and despite there being crude drawing on it pointing to her chest, he completely ignores it. In fact, he never looks at Katsuragi lustfully, even when his classmates, after meeting her one time, become focused on “what a babe” she is and are jealous of Shinji’s living situation with her. Likewise, when his male classmates are thinking lustfully about their female classmates and start pressing Shinji to tell them what part of Rei he’s looking at, he surprises them by admitting that he wasn’t looking at her body, instead observing that she seemed to be really lonely. When Katsuragi teasingly accuses him of the same thing, he again tells her that he’s not thinking of her like that, he just wants to get to know her better because she’s also a 14-year-old pilot like he is. Even when accidentally caught in an awkward situation with Rei, he does his best to avert his eyes and be respectful.

Everyone in Evangelion expects Shinji to perform in line with their idea of masculinity and always seem surprised when he behaves in a way that is not, like when he lacks confidence or is reluctant to act with violence or looks at women in a way that isn’t lustful, and we see how Shinji himself has internalized this difference and believes that there is something wrong with him because of it. However, I think this shows that gender should not be defined by how well masculine or feminine stereotypes are performed, as it only harms those who don’t quite fit within those guidelines.

[gatormyst]

Hey whisperingwisterias! Your analysis of Evangelion was interesting! I loved how you pointed out that when the military was trying to subdue the Angel they were destroying the city more than the Angel was. That is until the Eva arrived. I agree with what you said and that he was forced into piloting the Eva only because he didn't want the injured girl to pilot it and become hurt even more. This was showing his kindness towards others. He made himself do something he didn't want to do so the other person didn't have to suffer through more. Overall, your analysis was amazing and your writing was excellent I loved reading your analysis!

[gatormyst]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 1)

This was my first time watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and I have to say the first couple episodes aren’t that bad. To be honest I’ve heard about the show before but I never knew what it was about until I started watching it. I have to say I love the giant robots in the show. The show deals with the theme of masculinity that became very apparent after reading the articles by Connell and Heasely.

Evangelion starts off with the town of Tokyo-3 being attacked by a monster that they call a “Angel.” Which is funny because usually we think of an angel as a being who helps and not destroys while in this case the “Angel” is  destroying the town. The military has done everything it can to stop it, even dropping a nuke on top of it. So, they have no choice but to turn to a very secret organization named NERV. We meet our protagonist Shinji Ikari whose dad works at or runs NERV. They haven’t seen each other in years and his dad sends for him only so he can pilot the Eva and defeat the angel. At first he refuses asking his dad if this was the only reason he needed him and his dad says “yes.” Still Shinji refuses and so they bring in the other pilot who is severely hurt. This is when Shinji finally decides he’ll pilot the Eva.

This anime, much like a lot of anime in this genre, wants the protagonist to perform acts of violence through a mechanized suit. This action is what Connell describes in his text as hegemonic masculinity. The dominant form of masculinity which expects men to engage in acts of violence when needed and the situation with the angel is definitely needed. Shinji’s refusal to fight the Angel is what Heasely describes as queer masculinity. Which is not what you think. Queer masculinity is a subordinated type of masculinity that heterosexual men can have as well. While hegemonic masculinity is the dominant type. So, we find out that Shinji has more of the queer masculinity (as these men are usually seen as cowards) than hegemonic masculinity but is being forced into hegemonic masculinity by society. From Evangelion we can see that the queer masculinity is not acceptable. That is apparent when Misato is yelling at Shinji to stop being so uptight and grow a “backbone and confidence.” Telling him to be a man and fit into the society's norm.

I can relate to Shinji because growing up I was the cowardly little kid who didn’t want to do anything bad or get in trouble. So, in that way I can relate to Shinji but I can’t relate to him with the way he’s trying to avoid his responsibilities. I mean, yeah, it’s kind of harsh to get all of this thrown onto you at once but when I have responsibilities dumped on me (like all the ones associated with starting college) and I took them on and had to deal with them the best I could. Even if that meant struggling to balance everything. So, in some ways, yes, I can relate to Shinji and what he goes through. In other ways, no, I can’t relate to Shinji and what he decides to do.

Overall, I would recommend watching this show because it is pretty good but don’t skip an episode because then you get kind of confused. So, watch every episode and you’ll be in for a fun anime.

[zachary305]

Gender and Society (Wandering Son)

Wandering Son was really just a sweet anime to watch. I love the music, some of the choices they made for the soundtrack were perfect. Playing Clair De Lune was the quickest way to tug on my heart strings and they took advantage of it! I also like that this anime handles the topic of transgender identities, something I haven’t seen many other animes discuss, and if they do discuss it, often its done in a poor manner. Regardless, it uses this story about transgender youth to discuss themes of gender noncomformity and the pressure society places on the people within it to conform to its standards.

So the story follows two middle school students named Nitori and Tatsuki. Both are struggling to understand their transgender identities in an environment that doesn’t accept this idea. They slowly help eachother to realize their identities and present as who they really want to be, but not without resistance from their peers. It’s through this that the anime tackles these themes and also the varied levels of acceptance towards the two children. Tatsuki, who is a trangender boy, starts wearing the male student uniform to school, but this is only met with mild backlash and intrigue. However, when Nitori wheres the female uniform to school, its met with incredible amounts of ridicule and backlash. It shows the true nature of this gender divide and relates it back to the idea of gender as a performance. Women are known to have masculine traits, so many dont oppose to Tatsuki adopting the masculine uniform, however men are known to solely have feminine traits, which is why Nitori is met with backlash. It shows that there are rules and guidelines to these ideas and if you step out of line, you are going against the norm. There must be something wrong with you in society’s eyes.

Which is why its so touching to see Nitori and Tatsuki to also have support systems. They are adapting to who they believe themselves to be and although the world isn’t ready for that, those around them will defend them. I also think this anime lends to the idea that gender isn’t much more than a concept as it deals with the “genderbender” play near the end of the anime.

[gatormyst]

Hey! I loved reading your take and description of Wandering Son. I love how you talk about Nitori and Tatsuki relationship and encourage each other to be their true selves and I found that as a really heartwarming throughout the anime. I also found how you talked about the different kinds of backlash each different character received. It was heartbreaking to me to see the way Nitori was being treated even though I believe what Nitori and Tatsuki were doing was basically the same just flip-flopped because of their assigned genders at birth. Overall, I loved your analysis of it and loved reading it!

[gatormyst]

Wandering Son

This was my first time seeing Wandering Son and it is definitely a show I wouldn’t watch on my own. Nonetheless it was interesting how Wandering Son showed how transgenderism is viewed in Japan. The show also showcases the discrimination faced by people who are transgender or cross-dress in Japan.

At the beginning we are introduced to our protagonist, a middle-school aged student named Nitori. It’s prominent from the very beginning that this anime would be talking about gender identity because Nitori talks about how the male school uniform is uncomfortable and talks about how it feels suffocating. In Japan uniforms are commonplace everywhere and are used to categorize students into male and female. When Nitori says that she feels suffocated in the male uniform it embodies how she feels like she can’t express her true gender and is forced to perform as a male. This makes it more difficult for people who feel this way in Japan than in the US. In the US only the private schools have school uniforms, so in public high schools when it is much easier to change clothing it is much easier for people to perform as their desired gender. Even so, Nitori doesn’t let the difficulty stop her from performing as the gender she feels. 

The show also deals with the discrimination faced by transgender people in Japan. Japan has pretty conservative views still and transgenderism and LGBTQ+ people are often not accepted as readily in Japanese society. This can be seen when Nitori finally decides to dress as in a female school uniform and perform as a female when given encouragement from Yoshino who was born a biological female but performs male and wears the male school uniform. When Nitori shows up to school in the female uniform she is not accepted like her friend is. In fact her parents are called in to have a parent-teacher conference regarding the issue. After this the friends Nitori had avoided and ignored her. This showcases that when people reveal who they truly feel like they can lose a lot of friends in the process. I have known people who were closeted and came out and lost nearly everyone they had been friends with because they showed that “this is who I truly am” and a lot of people just don’t accept it.

I could not relate to this anime because I am not a part of the LGBTQ+ community and I’ve never received the kind of discrimination that Nitori did. While I did receive discrimination before I feel like the kind of discrimination Nitori had to endure is different in a sense. So, it was hard for me to relate to the struggles Nitori had to persist through but I can acknowledge that they do occur everywhere in the world. Japan, the US, Great Britain and so on and so forth. 

I would recommend watching it though. It isn’t something to watch casually but however if you want to watch a show about transgenderism that gives a good representation of the LGBTQ+ community this is definitely the show for that and I’d recommend you watch it.

[jimmyanimeblog]

Module 10: Convention Post

Anime fandoms have the special ability to create an environment where fans are able to feel empowered and have a sense of belonging. These fandoms are usually small and local due to it not being widely popular and accepted within many societies. To combat this issue however, there are annual conventions hosted where these anime fandoms from all over the world come together to express their fan productivity and feelings about their favorite anime or Japanese culture in general. Although I’ve never been to an anime convention, I can clearly see why it has become so popular amongst many fandoms. From watching the documentaries on these anime conventions and what it means to be a “True Otaku”, conventions play a major part into helping bring people together, providing opportunities for fans to meet their favorite anime or Japanese content creators, and allowing people to expand their knowledge on different perspectives of anime and Japanese culture.

Anime fans are often seen as odd and not socially “normal” in which they are sometimes discriminated against for their fondness of anime due to the way that they dress and act. Anime Fandom conventions allow people to come together and create a sense of community where their feelings are accepted and welcomed. These anime conventions don’t limit themselves to just physical connections, there is a vast network of anime fans within the online community where people from all over the country are able to express their feelings through the internet at any time. Some examples of these online anime networks may include anime blogs, social media, anime specific websites, etc.  Another way that anime conventions allow people to express their love for anime is by allowing fans to cosplay their favorite characters. Through cosplay, people are able to show their creativity and passion for their favorite anime characters. In addition to this, fans can draw attention to themselves where other fans may come up to them and ask them for a picture with their cosplay costumes. Fans often enjoy the attention because naturally humans enjoy attention which enables them to have a passion for cosplaying.

After getting the opportunity to watch these conventions through the documentaries, I can relate to how fandoms create a sense of community. Although I don’t participate in many anime fandoms, participating in football fandoms are overall really similar where I feel a sense of belonging where people are able to come together to support a common team.

Anime conventions not only allow fans to come together, they also often feature panels and workshops where fans get the opportunity to meet industry professionals, voice actors, or creators of their favorite anime or Japanese content, offering insights into the anime world. These workshops might cover anything from drawing and animation techniques to voice acting. Anime fans really get to immerse themselves into the anime world where they learn about the behind the scenes of how their favorite anime came to be. Fans get to learn about the creative processes behind their favorite shows and movies, upcoming releases that are coming up, and the cultural context behind a particular anime. Fans also learn to understand how anime is perceived and enjoyed around the world, and how different cultures interpret and engage with Japanese media. I feel like this provides anime fans with an experience where they get to connect to their favorite anime or Japanese content on a whole new level.

All in all, anime conventions are an incredible way for fans to come together to create a community, meet creators of their favorite anime or Japanese content, and broaden their knowledge about the anime industry overall. Anime conventions play a major role in giving fans the opportunity to express their fan productivity and love for anime. These anime conventions emphasize the point that being an otaku means so much more than just being an anime fan.

[gatormyst]

Hey Jimmy! I loved reading what you took from the documentary "True Otaku" and how you related it to anime conventions and anime fans. One thing I really liked is how you compared the anime fandom to a football fandom. This shows that really anything can be a fandom as long as they're inclusive and create a sense of belonging for you which is what the football fandom does for you. I can definitely say that I feel like people can belong to however many fandoms they want and what only limits them is the time that they can spend in each fandom. I also loved how you talked about panel boards where fans get to meet the voices of their favorite characters at the convention. Overall, this blog was very informative and I loved your view on it.