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[our-ensemble]

The Use of Military (and related) Aesthetics Until AKATSUKI's Fan Thanx Event

The recent AKATSUKI event has garnered concern for it's use of military uniforms given the imperialistic history of the military and its position as an institution that enforces the status quo using force. To get a greater view on this matter, I'll talk about other instances about the use of military aesthetics in Enstars and how that can inform how we see these costumes. (*This is a long post).

Because the story for the event is not out yet, no speculation about the story is being made, and it should be understood that the situation about this event can change depending on what details are revealed in the future.

Before heading further, I do think it is important to note that I did have to rush through in writing this all out due to personal commitments in life that make it difficult to dedicate a lot of time to this analysis. If you see any typos or odd sentences, I'll do my best to clarify them, and if you see something that is incorrect or you feel like adding on to, you are free to comment on it!

We'll begin by looking at similar controversies to the ones raised about the Fan Thanx Event.

This isn't the first time that military uniforms have been used, especially not with AKATSUKI. In the !-era event "Clash of Arms! Opera of Moonlight Romance", AKATSUKI (along with some other characters) wear military uniforms as part of an opera taking place in the late Meiji-era (the Meiji-era is from 1868 - 1912, this event would take place in the latter half, with some fans also including the early years of the Taishō-era [around WWI] due to the overlap). The event is associated with the song "Kengeki no Mai" (剣戟の舞).

The Meiji-era and the Taishō-era are important for the establishment of Japanese colonial rule, which involved the colonization of Indigenous groups in Japan (the Ainu and the Ryukyuans), Taiwan, Korea, and parts of China throughout these years. Thus, the military uniforms from these eras are controversial because they represent a force that subjugated, oppressed, and colonized different groups. To bring up this imagery casually (something which Enstars isn't the only franchise to do) makes this history feel disrespected and ignored. Although the story of Opera has nothing particularly strong about it - the story isn't invested in the military background enough to add or subtract from the conversation - the song "Kengeki no Mai" continues to be remembered for it's lyrics, which discuss evildoers who are slain for the sake of the city (paraphrased) - or as simplified by others, imperialism.

The costumes and the song have been a point of contention for a long time, especially for those who have been on the receiving end of Japanese imperialism. What this uniform has meant for different communities in the Meiji and Taishō-era is never explored by Enstars itself.

Another controversy, this time from the !!-era, is for the costumes from the event, "SHUFFLE * The Unknown Holy Night and Nighthead". The costume is a mix of a train conductor's uniform with punk aesthetics. However, the use of punk aesthetics brought up a glaring problem, which was the influence of Nazis in punk spaces and how that carries over into other punk-related ventures.

Punks often took clothing associated with the establishment and altered them as a sign of rebellion, which was especially noticeable with military and police fashion. However, a large pattern that was also observed in punk spaces was the presence of Nazis. The punk slogan was often to do things for the sake of "shock" - something which, for some people, meant openly proclaiming to be a Nazi. The fashion inherited from Nazis can still be observed among punks even if they aren't Nazis themselves. This has brought about critiques about the existence of Nazis in punk spaces and the inability to use their aesthetics against them in a time where fascism is as persistent as ever.

Importantly, prior to the MV's release, when all the fanbase had was the cards, many fans struggled to place the aesthetics of the Shuffle unit. Several had noticed features resembling military and/or Nazi uniforms, which led to a spike in concern. While subsequent information released about the event helped clarify the direction of the unit, the criticisms of the outfit still remained as many fans felt that more take care should have been taken, such as through the employment of a sensitivity reader, to ensure that the costume didn't resemble something it had nothing to do with.

The comments above have also been made for the costumes from the !-era story "Resurrection Sunday", where some fans felt that the costume was drawing too closely to Nazi aesthetics.

There have also been several events making use of police uniforms ("Police", !-era; "RELOADED", !!-era). While these costumes haven't garnered similar backlash, fans have not regarded these highly.

Although Enstars has dabbled in military and police aesthetics multiple times over the years, not all of these instances have been deemed equally offensive.

Ibara is a character who is deeply entrenched in military aesthetics, moreso than his peer, Yuzuru, who attended the same Himemiya family-run military orphanage. The military orphanage is one of the more "out-there" pieces of lore that Enstars has, but it has often been tied to the franchise's lack of hesitance in… making plot points that most wouldn't undertake. That being said, the military orphanage hasn't been a reason for controversy due to it's unrealistic nature - it's too far removed from reality to stir up the feelings mentioned in the incidents above. The uniform for the orphanage, as seen in Ibara's unbloomed card for the "Frontline Watchdogs" event, is nondescript, and the emphasis of the military environment is on how it has affected Ibara and Yuzuru rather than anything kind about the military itself. That being said, there is still the question about if the orphanage needed military aesthetics, or if it could do without them.

As for Ibara himself, he still retains military influences to this day. However, as was mentioned with the orphanage uniforms, many of Ibara's outfits don't draw from specific iterations of the military, instead relying on more fictional notions about the military which are mixed with idol aesthetics. He is "a man influenced by the military (for better or for worse)" rather than "a military man". While not everyone is pleased about Ibara's military influences, it hasn't crossed into offensive territory because it doesn't valorize the military, and it's distance from the real-life military also keeps it distant from victims of the military.

Additionally, ALKALOID as a unit has a soldier motif, but it's actual military inspirations are limited. Their designs, when coupled with their choreography, has led to some describing them as "toy/fairy tale soldiers", rather than an idea of soldiers grounded in reality. Additionally, because ALKALOID pulls from other aesthetics (the suit of cards motif, Hiiro and Aira being compared to a swallow and swan respectively, etc.), the soldier theme is heaavily reduced, especially when compared to other renditions of the military in Enstars. All in all, while the idea of soldiers is used for ALKALOID, it's not an execution rooted in reality, nor is it the sole focus of their theming.

That being said, ALKALOID's case isn't perfect. Given that each member of ALKALOID is from a marginalized community, some fans have expressed discomfort about these members who struggle under the status quo being designed to embody an institution that defends the status quo. It has also been noted since ALKALOID's integration that each member shares a name with a Japanese war vessel, which draws a harsh link with the military that the average person wouldn't notice. While the soldier-fantasy idea that ALKALOID uses has been much preferable to other military aesthetics, there are still important concerns about what this aesthetic means for them and how far it has, is, and will be taken.

In the present, AKATSUKI's Fan Thanx Festival outfits have been compared to the Taishō and early Showa-era military uniforms, which would span the time from around WWI to WWII. For this reason, the linkage of the event outfit to the Nazi aesthetics is direct because this was the time period (the Showa-era in particular) when Japan was fully integrated as an Axis power.

As we see more of Ibuki, more of our questions about how his integration into AKATSUKI will proceed are being answered. One area of concern was Ryukyuan representation. In all the songs released since Ibuki's inclusion, the influences on the music and the costumes have been entirely Western. In the comments of the MV*, Ibuki's presence is taken as the beginning of AKATSUKI's Westernization - which places his inclusion in AKATSUKI entirely upon him "as a half-American" rather than him "as a half-Okinawan". Ibuki still references Ryukyuan culture, such as his continued integration of Uchinaaguchi phrases into his speech, but it hasn't been integrated into AKATSUKI's image as a unit (I have another post about AKATSUKI and non-Yamato cultures that I will get to another day). Because most of Ibuki's references to Okinawa take place in stories rather than in music and aesthetics, judgements about the integration of his culture will have to wait until after the story releases, but from the aesthetics front, there is nothing to state.

As has been stated with ALKALOID above, because Ibuki is from a marginalized community that has been strongly impacted by the status quo, associating him with the military is contentious - especially because of the continued presence of the American military in Okinawa. A fear in tandem with this is Ibuki being characterized as a colonizer rather than the colonized. *Some fans have explicitly drawn the aesthetics of the video to the Westernization undertaken in the Meiji-era, the term for which can also mean "civilization" or "enlightenment" (文明開化) (<- an extra note: this refers to a specific idea of civilization, this isn't the generic/casual Japanese word for civilization). The problem of "civilizing" lies in what is deemed a "civil" society - many of these "civilized/developed/modern" societies were ones that punished and devalued marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous peoples. The cruel treatment of these groups can range from forced labour to assimilation to genocide. The Meiji-era in particular was known for it's push for homogenization as a colonial tactic.

There is an entirely different conversation to be had about marginalized people who acted in service of colonial regimes vs. those who acted against them - but the fact that such topics are being brought up so casually in a gacha game at all is what some fans find pressing. The use of the Taishō-Showa uniforms, along with AKATSUKI's use of the Rising Sun flag upon adding Ibuki to the unit and the plotline about the Idol Colonization of Okinawa have all culminated in an uncritical understanding of colonialism that doesn't grapple with the "other side" of the story.

*Although I am making note of things I have seen from Japanese fans, I explicitly want to state that this should not be seen as a reflection of the JP fanbase as a whole. I'm only noting that these were JP comments for the sake of clarity in case this is something that people havn't seen in other spaces at this time. That being said, the sentiments of civilization and Westernization that I have discussed above are not a uniquely Japanese sentiment, since there are plenty of people on the English side making the exact same comments. Please don't make any generalizations about any particular group, and try to understand the different approaches that people have taken to this topic.

[mezzo-aisou]

I agree with many points in this post. I think you present the facts relatively objectively, which I appreciate since most people tend to simply just yell "nazi", attack everyone who doesn't agree, and call it a day.

I also agree about your point that one shouldn't assume all people of a country or culture share the same opinion, but I do see a clear trend here, and I think that is important to mention.

Like in most countries (including my own), history in Japan is not taught without bias. And this shapes people's way of thinking. The "bunmei-kaika (cultural enlightenment)" that you, and many, many, many Japanese people in the Youtube comments under the MV mention, is regarded as a time of upheaval with change in bad but also a lot of good ways.

While from a Western viewpoint, people mainly highlight the rise of militarism and imperialism, most Japanese people seem to associate this time period with the introduction of all kinds of Western technology, changes in customs and fashion, and the end of the feudal system that had dominated people's social status until that point. This "enlightenment" referred to letting go of traditional customs that were then labeled as old-fashioned (note: not necessarily just indigenous customs, but most non-Western customs including Yamato Japanese ones), and adopting "modern" ways of life. (If anyone wants to know more about the bunmei-kaika, the Wikipedia article is an interesting read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunmei-kaika?wprov=sfla1)

I haven't gone to school in Japan, so I can't say for sure, but from what some of my Japanese friends told me in the past, they're not exactly taught in history class what the people of the Ryukyu islands thought of the Japanese barging onto their lands. (And they're probably also taught that the Japanese as well as the Chinese and their armies had also been there many times before, and technically they were already under Japanese rule since 1606). Usually, history classes don't like to present their own country as the oppressor.

Now, I am not absolving the Japanese fanbase or HE from any responsibility in how they are presenting Akatsuki here, but what I am convinced of is that their "crime" is one of (wilful) ignorance, not of purposeful propaganda.

I don't think they intended to put them in "nazi uniforms", and the majority of the Japanese audience also doesn't seem to read them as such. Military uniforms across the world have been very similar for many decades now. They're drawing a parallel to the bunmei-kaika here, which was happening before WW1, so why would they be nazi uniforms? I also don't think they're trying to insinuate that Ibuki (Okinawa) had to be colonized by Akatsuki (Japan). In fact, my biggest problem here is that they're not equating Ibuki with Okinawa at all. He's mostly just there to be the American.

As you mentioned, though in some of the stories his Okinawan heritage is discussed, in the bigger picture, he is being treated like the Western influence on Japan. And I believe they're using this historical parallel of the bunmei-kaika to convince the Japanese audience that "an outside influence can help improve Akatsuki, as it has done so for Japan in the past." And scrolling through the MV's comment section, I'd say their strategy is mostly a success.

Obviously, these stories are being written by Yamato Japanese people, and a lot of them associate Okinawa with America ("Haha, isn't it fun that we can go eat at the all-American Wendy's so close to home?"😬). And they don't just associate it with America, but specifically the US army, because the largest American military base in Japan is on Okinawa.

I see lots of English speaking fans being upset about Ibuki being "Japanized", but completely ignoring the reality which Okinawa has lived under since the end of the Second World War: Their island is being trampled on by the US Army, and the Japanese government is not doing a thing about it, because it's more convenient for them to just let them have it.

Since we're talking about fictional characters here, they're not real and don't have any feelings and I don't think they need to "be saved" or anything ridiculous like that. But if we look at the current state of reality in Japan, and if we want to argue that fiction can impact how people view reality, I would argue that presenting an Okinawan character as an American is actually the most harmful thing HE is doing here.

They're essentially making it seem like the American presence on Okinawa is fine and dandy, and that the USA is a part of Okinawan people's identity now. Instead of the reality of the military bases being destructive to the Okinawan people and nature.

As a general note to the fandom, not necessarily to OP: Yes, nazism and fascism is sadly very much on the rise in the world, but I think it's counter-productive to go dig for wisps of it in fiction, and as a result simultaneously distract from the actual issues in reality impacting the people you're supposedly "defending" (and also feeding your white savior complex), as well as spending your time and energy on trying to change a fictional world when that time could be spent on calling for change in the real world.

Please, before making 20 posts about a game that you purport to hate, take a moment to consider: Have you signed any petitions for the removal of the US army from Okinawa? Have you donated money to Gaza? Have you (if you're American) made efforts to stop fascist laws being implemented by calling government representatives? Are you voting against fascism in every election? Could you be doing something that actually changes the real world for the better? Go do that, please.