Japanese Films

[thirteen-orphans]

Assassination Classroom (S1 1, 5, 16, S2 11) Reflection

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not really in the best state of mind to be talking about anime right now when I've spent the past 13+ hours brainrotting and feeling violently ill over This One Other Thing but this is the last one... So I'll do it anyways. God this tastes terrible but I'll do it for you [sacrifices].

I can't remember if I watched the entirety of Assassination Classroom before, but I do believe I read all of the manga when I was in elementary school. The story follows Class E's journey as they try to assassinate their yellow octopus teacher, Koro sensei. They don't understand why the government would ask this of them, but they stop questioning once they hear the reward: 10 billion yen. As students accepted to be societal rejects and with no inherent value for the sole reason of not being good at school, this bounty money seems like the only chance they have at accomplishing something with their lives when no one else believes in their ability to accomplish great things in life. Unsurprisingly, hilarity and shenanigans ensue, along with some interesting notes about students who are failed by the education system and prejudice.

It's very clear to see the educational discrimination that occurs in Assassination Classroom between members of Class E and the rest of the school. They're thought to be the lowest of the low for not achieving high enough grades in school, to the point of being completely alienated by the rest of their peers. Their inability to perform as well in school is treated like a contractable disease that encourages all the other "good" students to stay away until they are inevitably sent away to the old campus on top of the mountain and effectively "abandoned" by the education system. In the eyes of the principal, Class E is a scapegoat to encourage competitive and high-achieving students in the main campus to do even better as to not fall to the same level as the "failures". In doing so, Class E was almost completely deprived of an opportunity to properly learn with teachers who cared about their educational growth. Faced with the constant repetition that their efforts will always amount to nothing, just about all of the class had given up and accepted their fate. However, they were able to find their drive to succeed and push past the prejudices with Koro sensei's help, all because he believed in their ability to persevere and learn despite all these extraordinary circumstances pushing back at them.

[jpnfilmblog]

One other thing that stood out to me in terms of Korosensei’s way of teaching is how he emphasized the importance of students to work together. From the manner in which the rest of the students at the school are depicted, it is quite evident that the education system promotes unhealthy, excessive competition. Creativity of thinking is not rewarded as much. Instead, the system places a significant amount of importance on the number of questions a student can get correct in a limited amount of time. I am in no way trying to diminish the importance of standardized testing; I do believe it to be necessary. However, I also think the importance we place on such testing should be reconsidered. 

[jpnfilmblog]

Gotoh: Assassination Classroom (Ep. 1, 5, 16 S2 Ep. 11)

Not going to lie, I did consider not writing this post. BUT it is the last post of the semester; so, to end on a strong note, I am currently writing it.

I watched one episode of Assassination Classroom a while back but found it ridiculous. Needless to say, I did not watch any further. However, after being required to watch past episode 1, I found the series to be quite interesting and will most likely watch the rest of the episodes after our final.

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

The Top 1% of Earners... and the Rest

Like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Assassination Classroom depicts a class divide. Interestingly, however, the school is an elite school. Students in Class E, who are the focus of the anime, are nicknamed the “End” class, because of their “poor” academic performance relative to the rest of their classmates that attend the school. The school encourages the ridiculing of Class E students. In fact, many of the administrators participate in this ridicule with the justification that it will instill a sense of fear in the other students to not want to end up like Class E that, then, fuels their motivation to increase their academic performance and chances to a high-rank career. The situation depicted is eerily similar to the world we live in today with the ever-growing wealth gap in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. According to a recent article by CNN, the world’s top 1% of the wealthiest residents have “captured nearly twice as much wealth as the rest of the world” over the past two years (Luhby, 2023). That is, the top 1% have seen their net worth rise by $26 trillion, while the rest of us in the bottom 99% have only seen our net worth rise by a mere $16 trillion. Therefore, by making Class E the focus of the show with them being tasked to save the entire world from getting destroyed by assassinating Koro-sensei can be seen as a call to arms for those at the bottom of the social ladder to fight against the systems that dissuade them from rising.

***Additionally, Koro-sensei’s name (Korosen - can’t kill; Sensei - teacher) can be viewed as an acknowledgement to the systems of inequalities that cannot be killed. However, the show seemingly argues that individuals can learn to fight against those systems in hopes of changing the expected narrative written of them by society at-large. 

[bribriz]

Cyberpunk Edgerunners

Cyberpunk Edgerunners adeptly executes its story in a cyberpunk setting.

We are thrust in media res with a violent scene of a cyberpsycho. It immediately sets the tone of a dark world. Later, David’s walk to school further expands on the world: the degeneracy of society.

Night City is presented as a cruel world once everything starts to come falling down for David. It is an extreme case of money running the world. For example, if you are not a policy holder, then you will not be rescued during a life threatening situation. I cannot help but compare it to the US healthcare system. It really questions when the significance of life is reduced to the same extent in Night City. This further exemplified by David’s impersonal transaction of handling his mother’s remains.

The Arasaka Corporation is an all-encompassing presence throughout Night City. Even David’s mother wants him to climb the corporate ladder because it is supposedly the only path to survive. However, this is refuted when David literally is on top of Arasaka Tower and has no choice but to fall down to his demise with Adam Smasher. Arasaka Corporation can be likened to how capitalism is all-encompassing. There is no exteriority or alternative for capitalism: it is simply an inherent force in the system.

Except, Lucy’s dream to go the moon was a possibility for paradise, but it was nothing without David, unfortunately. The system has snatched away David forever, and by extension, Lucy’s dream.

Cyberpsychosis is an interesting concept, which is creatively depicted. It is a result of the high mental stress of cybernetic implants. This serves as a limit for those trying to make a name for themselves. In short, long-term success can only be attained as a corpo. Also, the only way to deal with cyberpsychosis is to take immunosuppressants; there is no cure, except removing the implants. And in the end, if you fall off the edge, you are targeted for disposal. This could be a critique of a scenario where people with mental disorders do not have access to proper care.

P.S. the music is fire.

[jpnfilmblog]

I think you’re right on the money with the critique of capitalism! To add on, I think the anime is referring to Japan’s issue with burakku kigyōs, known as black corporations, that exploit workers and whose practices are attributed to Japan’s high number of karōshi (death by overwork). 

[jpnfilmblog]

Imaishi: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Ep. 1-2,6,10)

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

This was a good class choice in that it summed up many of the themes we’ve discussed this semester.

1.)    Social Inequality

One of the first things that popped out to me while watching was the racial-ethnic differences in economic security. From his last name, the protagonist, David Martinez, seems to be Latinx. In the United States, the Latinx community face an earnings disparity that translates into lower income. Women face even greater disparities with their intersectional identity (Women + Latina). This structural inequality is painfully demonstrated with David’s mother, Gloria, working long hours, participating in the underground economy, and left to die due to her classification as poor and not being an insurance holder.

2.)    The Role of Technology

The way in which Cyberpunk: Edgerunners demonstrates technology’s role in society reminded me a lot of PsychoPass. The way in which Maine, and later David, fall into cyberpsychosis provides a message to beware of the way in which we use technology; since, overusing it can lead to the loss of self. With the moon scene in the last episode, the anime seemingly argues that true happiness can be found in the exteriority. That is, one should disengage from technology, if they have the desire to bring balance to their digital and real-world lives. (Though, there is also the question of how much of Cyberpunk’s world is “real.”)

Overall, this was a really interesting watch that provided commentary on the state of our world today and is highly relevant to many societies, not just Japanese society. Especially with the birth of AI technology – the most relevant to us being ChatGPT – it encourages discussion among the viewers on how technology should be used and to what extent it should be regulated.

[angel-is-not-creative]

Perfect Blue

⭐⭐⭐⭐+1/2

I had a very hard time distinguishing what was real in this movie and what wasn't. Every time I thought a real scene was happening it would reveal it was acting or a dream. However, what I'm gathering is that Rumi had DID and had been communicating with fans (or this one particular fan) through email and a website. I'm a little unsure as to if any of his interactions with her were real or just stress dreams.

Okay so I know for a fact that Mima is an idol turned actor and that some fans are upset about this. I think that both the creepy stalker man and Rumi show this type of parasocial relationship and unhealthy parts of fan culture. The creepy man, despite not actually knowing Mima felt like he had a right to dictate what she did with her career and was entitled to her attention. Rumi is living vicariously through Mima, so is upset when she goes down a path that doesn't match what she wanted.

At first, the movie paints Rumi as the sympathetic agent who wasn't going to force Mima to do these scenes to further her career, but in reality, she was pushing back on these opportunities because she wanted Mima to stay the same pop idol.

So again, I'm unsure of how many of those scenes with creepy man are real, but it seems like Mima is using these scary thoughts to help her act better or that they are just coming out because she is acting out similar things. It is clear that she herself often dissociates when in uncomfortable scenarios. As an ex-theatre kid, I can tell you how there are times were you have to check yourself out of scenes for your own mental health, and it can be very dangerous to trigger memories like that on stage.

Overall, I think I need to watch this movie again to get a better understanding of it all but it definitely had me on edge the entire time.

[jpnfilmblog]

I also had a hard time distinguishing between what was real and what was not in this film! I wouldn't label Rumi as a "fan" per say. I think the issue with her was that she saw a "what could have been" version of herself in Mima as an ex-idol who didn't make it in the industry, which then turned into extreme jealousy.

[jpnfilmblog]

Kon: Perfect Blue

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

Perception (Others vs. Oneself) and Third-Wave Feminism 

This was quite a watch to say the least. While watching, two themes that popped out to me the most were: 1.) the difference in how others perceive us vs. how we perceive ourselves and 2.) female sexual liberation.  

Throughout the film, Mima struggles with the way in which others around her continue to view her as a “pure idol”, despite undergoing a career change and becoming a “sexy actress.” Additionally, though she views her outward identity as a new actress trying to break-through in the harsh, entertainment industry, this also differs from her inner identity. The struggle of identities Mima faces as a young girl transitioning into womanhood combined with her job of putting up a “perfect” front as a celebrity provides at least a partial explanation as to why she begins to suffer from psychosis. Going off on a slight tangent, Perfect Blue was first released in 1997. By then, Japan had experienced two celebrity suicides. Both were female idols (Endō Yasuko and Okada Yukiko) who died by jumping off the roof of Sun Music building.* Their deaths were just ten days apart. These two incidents sent waves of shock throughout Japan, since the country was not yet familiar with the idea of suicide and could not have fathomed a “big name” – and two at that – to fall victim to suicide until that point. 

As for the topic of female sexual liberation, the film critiques society’s teachings of values in that girls should be cordial and pure. While the film has a handful of sexual scenes, many of which can be triggering, the focus on the naked female body can be critically analyzed from the viewpoint of female sexual liberation and the feminism movement. Mima capitalizing on her body as a female, an object of frequent sexualization, is one example of arguments made by third-wave feminists in that sex work is an act of female empowerment and reclamation (i.e., a means to gain financial independence).

[academic-weapon]

Sensōron

word count: 364 words 04.17.23

I was pretty excited about the prospect of consuming a different content format, but Sensoron wasn't really it for me. It is not uncommon for media, like manga, to present revisionist perspectives on historical events or societal issues. However, the most important thing is to be aware of the potential biases and agenda of the authors when consuming such content.

It is worth noting that revisionism is not inherently negative or problematic. A critical re-evaluation of established beliefs and interpretations can be valuable in expanding our understanding of history and society. I do not believe Sensoron accomplishes this, though— our male lead is little more than a history-obsessed degenerate, and the nationalistic bias is excessive. While it is true that war can have devastating effects on all parties involved, including civilians who may have no direct involvement in the conflict, it is important to recognize that some parties may bear more responsibility than others for the outbreak or escalation of the conflict. It is also important to acknowledge that some parties may have engaged in war crimes or other atrocities, while others may have acted more justly or proportionally.

Things are not as black and white as the main character tries to paint them. Just because every country involved in the war committed atrocities does not necessarily have to mean that they will all receive equal penalties. That's not a realistic outcome. Largely, power is an incentive for war. While it is true that there are no "winners" in a war in the sense that all parties involved may suffer losses, some parties will emerge from the conflict with greater power or resources, while others will be left devastated and struggling to rebuild.

Dwelling on past injustices and feeling a sense of victimization can be counterproductive, as it can lead to resentment and a lack of willingness to address the root causes of the conflict. Acknowledge that past, but also work towards a better future by promoting peace, justice, and understanding. Engaging in whataboutism or attempting to deflect responsibility by pointing out the faults of others is simply not a sustainable way to live. MC should look up "accountability" and go on from there.

[jpnfilmblog]

Wonderfully written! I agree with you that Sensoron is quite problematic and heavily one-sided (which is why it most likely hasn’t officially been translated in any languages). Critically examining past wrongdoings is an important step for countries to move forward and prevent the reoccurrence of similar historical events. I, however, enjoyed reading Sensoron in the sense that it opened my eyes to the extreme nationalism and revisionist perspective of the Pacific War purported by the author. In addition, I found the author to make slivers of valid points like the importance of not taking everything at face-value.

[jpnfilmblog]

Kobayashi: Sensoron

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

Rethinking Primary Sources and the Importance of Questioning Authority

This was an interesting read to say the least. I’m looking forward to the discussion we will have in class, so I can get a much more well-rounded perspective.

While the manga, itself, seems to have been highly controversial – given the contents and its argument, this comes to no surprise – there are two things it does well. One, it urges the reader to be more skeptical of the media they consume. And, on that same note, it also urges the reader to question authority figures.

Oftentimes, we tend to skepticize news sources, but how often do we skepticize pictures? Pictures are powerful; So much so that there is the quote “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It hit me with the realization that photographs have just as much power – if not more – to push a certain narrative and have the potential to distort events. In this day and age, however, it should not be surprising. Take social media, for example. Yes, the average college kid is not an influencer and does not brush-up every photo or forge vacations; yet, most of us tend to pick and choose the pictures we upload and portray a certain image we want for friends and family to see. This is all to say, it is important that we take everything with a grain of salt. Things that seem to have huge creditability (i.e., data, photographs, university archives) should ideally be fact-checked and analyzed before one forms an opinion.

Moving on to this manga’s issue(s), one huge issue, I would like to address of this manga is that the author seemingly argues that certain historical events did not take place. While different historical interpretations are valid, the erasure of historical events is dangerous – provided that the historical events were not forged to begin with, of course.  

Overall, I am glad that we were introduced to this piece as a break from anime, our primary media form of analysis.

[zotalks]

Your Name

It was definitely a pleasure to rewatch this movie as it is towards the top of my list when it comes to my favorite Anime Movies of all time. One of the bigger themes I would like to talk about is that of destiny and that everything that will happen to us is already predestined and "written down". This is shown through Taki and Mitsuha and how they end up finding each other. Though this is a point I would actually argue against as I believe that we as humans make our own destiny and write our own story of our lives depending on the actions we take and what sacrifices we make or refuse to make. Every action has it's own consequences and they each change the trajectory of our lives whether it be a big or small change.

Something else I would like to touch upon is the gender aspect of this show, we see Taki and Mitsuha change bodies throughout the show, but never do they change sexuality based on the body that they have. This connects to other animes we have seen throughout this class that our sex does not control over our gender and our sexual preferences.

Something that I am not sure if it is something we were supposed to pull from this anime or not is that as Humans we kind of always want a life that we don't have, Mitsuha (a girl from the country side) yearns to live a metropolitan lifestyle (the one that Taki lives) and Taki wants to live a calmer and more secluded lifestyle in the countryside. I have witnessed this dilemma with many people (including myself) that we always strive to be something kind of different than what we are.

[jpnfilmblog]

I would agree with you that the anime certainly revolves around destiny, but I do not necessarily think that Your Name argues that people’s destiny are “written down.” Rather, it seems to push the notion that we all have control over our “destinies” and have the ability to rewrite it at any given moment with Mitsuha and Taki being able to successfully save Mitsuha’s town from being destroyed.  

[jpnfilmblog]

Shinkai: Your Name

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

The Red String of Fate

Your Name is much more than just a simple, love story. Rather, I would argue that it focuses more on a youth’s transition from child to adult and each of their journeys of becoming more comfortable in their own skin.

Part of the consequence of Mitsuha and Taki switching bodies is how the relationships with those around them change. For example, when Mitsuha interacts with Miki through Taki’s body, she is able to score Taki a date. However, the person that Miki “likes” is not Taki, himself, but the Taki when Mitsuha takes over his body. Similarly, Taki is able to put Mitsuha’s classmates who talk behind her back due to her father’s job as a politician in their place by directly addressing their acts of bullying when he is in her body. This is all to say that a person’s personality is what defines them and their relationship with others. To become the person you want to be, you can do so through acting like the person you want to become. However, it is not necessary to be accepted by others for someone who you are simply not. “The red string of fate” not only applies to romantic relationships, but also to people’s relationships with family members, friends, and the communities they are part of.

Overcoming the Seniority Principle

The seniority principle of respecting elders and the notion that “the older you are, the wiser you are” is prevalent in many cultures. We see this played out in the film with none of the adults taking the children seriously when they are making efforts to save the town from getting decimated by the comet. While it is understandable as to why the adults did not believe it nor take it seriously initially, it drives home the message of the importance of lending an ear to all members of society – regardless of age.

[thirteen-orphans]

Hetalia Axis Powers (1-19) Reflection

Hello darkness my old friend, I have come to see you again... If the ending song gets stuck in my head again I might uh. Have to go skydiving off the top of Century Tower. Yeah. Watching this really brought me visceral emotional damage.

The most obvious thing to talk about with Hetalia is how the countries are personified into pretty anime boys. The moe elements are also easy to identify, with the antenna hair/ahoge/hair curl, and these representations of the countries is used to make light of them. As satirical as it's supposed to be, Hetalia offers very stereotypical views on various countries, but sometimes not treating serious topics with the right type of attitude or respect will result in fans also not taking the matters seriously. I appreciate those who consume this show critically, but once you get lost in your fantasies of hot (?) country-turned-humans, that tends to end up on the backburner. Either way, I don't really know how the Hetalia fandom is like these days, but from what I saw of it in 2015/2016, people were more concerned with shipping their favourite characters and creating scenarios for them (or maybe that's because I never bothered to engage with fandom much, back then and even now).

One concession I do have to make is that Hetalia does seem to provide people with an initial spark of interest in other countries and world history as a whole. The short, episodic nature of the anime doesn't lend much opportunity to properly delve into the history (and I don't think an anime that originated as a 4koma would want to properly discuss more serious topics at the expense of amusement), so it does depend on the fans themselves to educate themselves. This falls in line in being critical about the things you're consuming, because it doesn't take much to realize that the perspectives provided by Hetalia are largely influenced by creators of one sole country.

[jpnfilmblog]

I agree with you that the historical events and portrayal of countries depicted in the show are not supposed to be taken literally. It would do more good for people to look at the show for entertainment purposes and get a laugh out of its ridiculousness. I like how you pointed out the bias in the series with the creators being most - if not all - Japanese. I would like to see an anime that is made in collaboration with other countries and retells historical events accurately while keeping it easily digestible and comedic!

[jpnfilmblog]

Himaruya: Hetalia Axis Powers (Ep. 1-19)

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience 

Importance of Being An Active Citizen  

While this show has plenty of aspects to be critiqued about, I have got to say that I enjoyed it. Rather than being viewed and evaluated for its historical accuracy, I believe that it would be beneficial to look at the show as a means to get the audience interested into world history and current world news.

One glaring issue that can be observed is the downplay of egregious, historical events. From the episodes we were assigned, it is quite obvious – even to a person like me who is not particularly well-versed in world history – that the historical atrocities are heavily watered down and are not at all conveyed to their full extent when recounted. 

Another issue is the pushing of stereotypes. Some examples are the portrayal of Americans as gluttonous, Italians as pasta-lovers, Japanese as reserved, and Germans as strict rule followers. Although stereotypes are often harmful, I believe this to be less of an issue than the downplay of historical events. After all, the show indulges in satirical comedy. Put in a better way, the pushing of stereotypes can be viewed as “what NOT to do” (i.e., essentialize a group of people). And the manner in which the global conferences go down and political conflict between countries are handled should mobilize viewers to practice active citizenship.

Once the semester is over, I plan on watching the rest of the show and picking up some history books! Watching this made me wish I had paid more attention in my history classes in high school.

[shyuch]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

The Expression of a Video Game:

Anime and video games are two different mediums. Anime only makes use of limited animation, or even if it uses full animation, it could not ever render frames in such frequent intervals like 60fps. So, this opens up for a lot of extra room to have story-telling by action rather than dialogue. And it really does show, the scenes and camera movement seemed a lot more dynamic than you would find in anime. I just overall found this very interesting.

Blades Vs. Humans:

It seems that humans are jealous of the things that Blades want, and Blades want the things that humans take for granted. For example, blades can essentially live forever, but they do not want to live forever, they forget the past memories they made, and the way that this works makes everything a little less meaningful. However, since humans only have one life, everything has a meaning. And even though that humans die, they get to pass their generational knowledge down because they can remember, the blades cannot. In a way, the blades are more chained down by their limitations than humans.

Xenoblade Chronicles Vs. SAO:

I noticed a lot of parallels between the two works. First of all, I feel as though there is an "ascension" need, in order to find who is the controller of the world, and in order to get rid of them. They also have an aspect where there is a creator, and he's a power, all knowing being who controls all. Not to mention, once the creator is defeated, they all flash to a desolate sky/ocean only type scenery. These parallels just make me wonder, even though they have different messages, are they inspired off of one another?

Deep Ecology:

I feel as though that this makes sense. In the spectrum of deep ecology, humans care more about what matters to them, so they wouldn't make the sacrifice in the end to restore the world. However, blades which are more part inorganic matter, part biological replication, they understand the needs of non-living things, so at the end someone like Pyra steps up and gives the humans and the living creatures one more chance to inhabit it, because only will they understand a pragmatic version of Deep Ecology, will things prosper for humans.

Overall, I enjoyed this medium a lot. I always preferred more dynamic animations vs. more dialogue.

Also, the music is banger.

8/10

[jpnfilmblog]

I think you got it spot on with your viewpoint that humans tend to care more about the “now” rather than the “later.” This mindset is likely one of the primary reasons why it is so difficult to make progress on environmental issues. The reality is that the profits we make at the moment is much more of a pressing matter and interest than the looming effects of environmental degradation. 

[jpnfilmblog]

Kojima: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

 Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

 “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:10 NIV

Not going to lie, this was a bit difficult to sit through. I’m not that much of a fan of videogames, especially those like Xenoblade Chronicles 2; but, I did find the critique of environmental warfare quite interesting. Like Evangelion, there were, definitely, numerous biblical references. For the purposes of this post, however, I will be focusing on the Space Race.

To provide a brief historical overview, the Space Race was a 20th century competition between the world’s two greatest powers – the United States (democratic) and the Soviet Union (communist) – to prove their status as a sole superpower through achievement of superior spaceflight capability. This Cold War competition originated from the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations following WWII.

Putting this into context of the anime, the war between the drivers (“humans”) and the blades (“environment”) can be seen in a similar manner. Both groups fight to assert their ideology and place on Earth. As with any piece that holds environmental critique, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 condemns the way in which humans have exploited and destroyed nature. According to the Natural History Museum, we have directly altered at least 70% of the world’s land. To add on, the Climate Change Crisis is no less a social issue than it is an environmental issue with certain social groups (i.e., those that are socially marginalized) facing disproportionate challenges than others. However, the ending provides optimism that, perhaps, it is not too late for humanity to live in harmony with nature. If there is anything I took away from this show, it is how humanity needs to grow more appreciative of Earth and the resources it provides for us to inhabit it. The closest thing to an “Elysian Plain” is life on Earth and all life forms should have the right to live in an environment that is ecologically safe.

[jpnfilmblog]

SwampCon

SwampCon was my first ever Comic-Con and my goodness, what an experience it was! I went on Saturday, March 25th bright and early at 9AM, because I was signed up to volunteer at registration. Registration took a while to get started; At 9:45 we opened, and people slowly began to trickle in. My job consisted of ensuring that people signed the waiver, checking people’s IDs, and giving out wristbands. It was fun to work registration, as I got to see many cosplayers. A lot of people were decked out in costumes of their favorite characters, and some even brought along props to complete the full look! It was great to see a lot of people of different ages and backgrounds come out. Although I couldn’t identify the characters of whom many cosplayed as, I was able to still identify a handful. Some of my favorites were one of the volunteers who cosplayed as L from Death Note and one of the attendees, a middle aged man, cosplayed as Commandant Keith Shadis from Attack on Titan. Also, shout out to Angel from our class who cosplayed as Anya Forger from SpyxFamily!

After completing my shift, I wandered around for around 2 hours visiting panels, checking out vendors, and attending the Maid Café. I attended 2 panels: Comic Book Case Studies We Love Reading About and Wota Call – How to Support Your Idols. The Comic Book Case Studies was eye-opening in that I learned that the controversy of comic books is a common occurrence across countries. Like Japan’s Otaku Killer, the US had a similar incident called the Brooklyn Thrill Killers in which a gang consisting of teenage boys committed acts of assault against “social undesirables,” viewing themselves as crime-fighting heroes. This incident created a bad reputation for comic book enthusiasts in which comic books were accused of causing sexual perversion and juvenile delinquency. On a much lighter note, the second panel I attended discussed a way in which idol otakus socialize. The panel lecturer broke down wotagei (cheer dance) that fans do at an idol concert. A few things I learned is that there are different types of cheers for different moments. For example, fans say “Fuu! Fuu!” after a line, or “[Idol’s name]! Hai! Hai!” in certain situation while the idol is singing. Overall, the panels were informative as to what fandom culture is like and was a great extension of the assigned class readings and discussions we’ve had in class.

Moving on to the vendors, there was a lot of cool merch and talented artists who were selling beautiful prints. Here, the database consumption of buying and selling derivative works was wonderfully exemplified. Admittedly, I was also tempted to buy a print, but was able to restrain myself, as it was not, necessarily, something I needed.  

Last, but certainly not least, the Maid Café! I would like to give a round of applause to everyone that worked the Café. The set-up was done thoughtfully with there being a photo booth; the dance the “maids” performed was entertaining; and the food and drinks provided were free of charge, though most of us, including myself, left a gratuity. Connecting my experience to Azuma’s Database Animals reading, I observed many “moe elements”: cat ears, maid uniform, tail, and loose socks. All of which are not a simple fetish object, but emerged through market principles.  

All in all, SwampCon was a great experience! I am glad that we had this experiential learning component to apply what we learned in class. Kudos to everyone who dressed up, volunteered, participated as a vendor/panel lecturer, or just attended the convention!

[voicesofthechord]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

This film has a heavy environmentalist theme. It is a post-apocalypse story that follows Nausicaa, a young princess of the Valley of the Wind, as she tries to bring harmony between nature and humans.

The world is in a post-apocalyptic state where a gradually spreading toxic forest emanates toxic spores that are dangerous to human life. This Sea of Decay is also populated by insects and defended by the Ohms, which are giant insects (There's a lot of insects in this film). Industrialized civilization seems to have destroyed itself in an event called the Seven Days of Fire using Giant Warriors, which seem to be analogous to nukes/WMDs. It is an obvious message that humanity's greed, wars, and ignorant destruction of nature will lead to our own destruction. However, nature is very resilient in the grand scheme of things, and it will eventually recover. This can be seen with the Sea of Decay, which is the Earth's way of cleansing itself after humans have polluted it. The Sea of Decay, on the surface, is hostile and deadly to humans, especially the spores. But that's only because the trees of the Sea of Decay grew up on polluted soil and water, and the spores they release embody that deadly pollution, which is the product of past humans.

The humans in the film still don't understand nature and doesn't seem to have learned anything from past mistakes. Instead of appreciating nature for trying to cleanse the Earth, they deem it as their enemy. Factions like the Tolmekians want to destroy the Sea of Decay, even though that is the very source of the pure water that the humans rely on. The Tolmekian's actions is a critique of militarism and how war can only bring destruction and cause more problems than it might solve. It is also a critique of the blind violence of industrial human civilization, who frequently fall back on violent means to destroy anything that they perceive as obstacles, instead of trying to genuinely understand the root of the obstacles and overcome via peaceful and more thoughtful means. It is ironic that as human civilization progresses, especially in terms of industrialization, they become more barbaric in their treatment of nature. Furthermore, the humans in the film are split into different factions that are all busy fighting each other instead coming together to solve the collective problem of the environment. It is a critique of how despite being faced with a common problem, humanity still has this tendency to remain fragmented in what is basically tribalism, and each separate group only fights for their own greedy needs instead of working together.

The film also has a heavy generational critique. It is the past humans that have utterly destroyed the environment, and the newer generations have to live with it. Furthermore, in the film, Nausicaa, who is representative of a younger generation, has to fight and fix the problem by herself, despite the problem being originally caused by those older than her. The adults, for most of the film, are busy bickering with each other, starting wars, and angering nature, while Nausicaa, the young princess, has to fix of their problems and at the end even sacrifice her life. Nausicaa is also an environmentalist ideal. She is in tune with nature. She tries to understand nature's perspective and look for peaceful methods of coexisting, such as her secret lair of those supposedly toxic plants. Those peaceful methods often take much more hard work to pull, but Nausicaa nonetheless never wants to use the easy method of sheer violence as a solution. And the only times that we see her use violence is against other humans and not nature.

The film tells a good story and its themes are very relevant to our modern society. It preaches the importance of respecting nature and learning to live harmonious with it, because in a conflict between humans and nature, nature will always win in the end.

[jpnfilmblog]

Great analysis! This is something I covered in my post and saw on your post, as well, but I would like to expand on how human greed is tearing apart life on earth. A huge critique, I believe, of this film is how humanity is more concerned over taking over and trashing the little remaining amount of "pure land" that is still out of reach from toxins, rather than working together to reverse the effects of environmental degradation and its consequences to make the world more habitable for current and future generations.

[jpnfilmblog]

Miyazaki: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Addressing Global Issues/ Relating It Back To My Own Experience

“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” – Francis Bacon

Continuing with the critique of environmental degradation from last week, Miyazaki’s film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind adds to this critique.

To begin with, I’d like to analyze the ending scene of the film where Nausicaä rescues and protects the baby Ohm with her life and is later resuscitated. As always, there is a generational critique in that Nausicaä – not Lord Yupa – is the savior “clothed in a blue robe, descending onto a golden field” in the prophecy. Much of the burden of climate change and environmental issues rests on the younger generation to foster a cleaner and greener environment. Unlike Evangelion, however, the ending of Nausicaä is optimistic. The fact that the Ohm which represents Earth brings Nausicaä back to life suggests that it is not too late for humanity to retrace their steps and become more mindful of the impact of their everyday actions on Earth. Kushana admitting defeat and seemingly respecting Nausicaä’s wishes to cease war against The Toxic Jungle suggests that combined efforts to address environmental degradation is in humanity’s best interest, rather than fighting over territorial rights and the limited number of natural resources. The earth is not a place to trash, it is a place to live.

Another scene I’d like to analyze that has little to do with environmental critique is the scene where Asbel and the group of Pejite women help Nausicaä break free, so that she can access the glider to return to the Valley and warn her people of the oncoming attach of the Ohms led by Pejite soldiers. This demonstrates the conservative notion of women being inherently pacifist, such that they are viewed as being passive and apolitical. Tying into the idea of hegemonic masculinity from Evangelion, the scene, however, could also provide a critique on the damaging effects of society’s “male code” in which men are told to repress their emotions.