JPT1311

Assignments for UF Quest 1

[matchablossomblog]

Your Name/Hetalia/Sensoron

I’ve seen Your Name before, which was a few years ago. Before rewatching it, I remember I felt very confused after seeing it for the first time and googling what I watched. I didn’t understand the hype and why everyone enjoyed it, while I was left wondering what happened; however, I do recall appreciating the animation and soundtrack. I think that it was good seeing it again from an older viewpoint, and after watching the lecture.

Your name reminds me of the Disney movie The Swap. In this movie, Ellie, the female lead, had to provide a masculine performance and play hockey while in Jack's body. While in Ellie's body, Jack had to provide a feminine performance and do gymnastics. I thought this fit with the lecture on how men and women are expected to act, as seen in the scene where Mitsuha, in Taki's body, is expected to use the proper pronoun with his friends. I also noticed that the grandma mentioned that her son abandoned being a Shinto priest to go into politics. This reminded me of the first module that discussed different essentialisms, one of which was Closeness to Nature, inspired by the Shinto religion. I noted the scene where Mitsuha cuts her hair. Cutting hair usually means a new beginning or change. I thought her decision to cut her hair could be a symbol of changing fate, where she and her loved ones would survive the comet fragment that struck and destroyed Itomori.

I have never heard of, nor seen, Hetalia before this course. However, I found it to be a very interesting watch. I thought it was intriguing how the characters represented different countries and their personalities reflected the stereotypes of their countries. I found some parts of the anime to be comedic, and the lack of a filter for some comments caught me off guard. One comment that I noted was in the English dub episode 9, when Britain commented that America would become a diabetic fat person if he continued on a burger-only diet. I thought this drew attention to the stereotype of an overweight American due to the large portion size and affordability of fast food burgers. I also connected Italy from Hetalia to Mort from All Hail King Julian. I thought they shared an attachment to and reliance on another character, Germany for Italy, and King Julian for Mort. Furthermore, they have obsessions, as Italy is obsessed with pasta and food, while Mort is obsessed with feet.

I have read other manga and Sensoron was definitely the most biased one. I’m glad for the warning about it being biased since it could easily be misinterpreted as entirely true. This piece was my least favorite content in the module; however, I understand its connection to Hetalia and the topics discussed in the lectures regarding nationalism.

[noahleikensohn]

Hi matchablossomblog, I wholeheartedly agree that Sensoron was my least favorite piece of media to analyze during this course due to it’s biasing and the fact that it was made to demean people with any other viewpoint. But on a happier note I liked your connection form Your Name to essentialisms from the first module, I personally believe that since this anime is more conservative that may be why there is more allusions to nature. Lastly, the bluntness of the characters in Hetalia also surprised me, another first time viewer, but I’d like to believe that the blunt style of humor was the intention of the filmmakers to exaggerate some of the stereotypes so that the sarcasm could be more easy digested by the viewer.

[noahleikensohn]

Your Name / Hetalia: Axis Powers / Sensōron

Hey Chat! We are finally at the finish line for this course and I am extremely excited. But before that let us discuss the last few pieces of media that we needed to cover. Firstly, Your Name was another anime movie and had great visual aspects. I thought that it connected a lot to the story Wondering Son, while mixing popular culture elements from the hit movie Freaky Friday, because of these elements being mixed together I thought of our vocab term Moe Elements and how this movie could be considered a byproduct of those other pieces of media. Secondly, let me talk about Hetalia. I had never seen nor heard about this anime despite our professor boasting about its popularity. Nonetheless, I felt that this anime was interesting when characterizing a nations “core beliefs” and stereotypes into actual characters, but what really caught my eye was the lecture. In said lecture we talked about how the fandom in this anime stays alive due to lots of friction between sides of the fandom, which spurs positive discussion about the anime. This made me think about how nowadays this is still somewhat popular but often times what keeps an anime community alive is memes and edits, which I believe to be the modern version of Dojinshi and may help add to the shadow cultural economy of the anime/fandom. For example, the anime Jujutsu Kaisen has somehow continued to say in relevance due to the explosion of people making popular edits and low humored memes. Lastly, Sensoron to me seemed like a weird read, where as the humor was on in place to demean the leftist side and dismiss their claims. Although, it was subtle at some points I don’t feel as if silencing a viewpoint just because you disagree with it would add any positive discussion, but only lead to narcissism.

[50caldragon]

End of The World But Make It Aesthetic

So I’ve seen Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind before, more than a few times ngl, and every time it still knocks the wind out of me (pun not intended, but I’ll take it). There’s just something about the way Nausicaä is as a character that makes her so poignant. She's so young yet with a gentleness beyond her years, deeply kind, but also capable of absolute fury when it comes to protecting her people and life. The soundtrack? Still gives me chills. And that moment when the Ohms trample her at the end??? Y'all I still react with shock or physically cringing from it.

I always knew the film was about environmentalism, but it never ever feels preachy. Miyazaki has this rare ability in all of his movies to make political or social or whatever messages feel like poetry and art. It’s not oil on a painting or screaming into a camera, it’s storytelling with soul. Way more effective than gluing yourself to an exhibit, just saying.

Now, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 totally caught me off guard. I expected the usual over-the-top anime JRPG ride, ridiculously massive weapons, dramatic slow-mo speeches, suspiciously attractive villains (Malos, I see you), and some wild hair physics. What I didn’t expect was for the game to quietly punch me in the heart.

I mean, the whole world is this big crumbling ecosystem with people surviving on the backs of ancient sentient Titans, all looking toward this mythical place called Elysium that might not even be reachable. It's watching a society that’s already used up its world and is now desperately reaching for some long-lost salvation in the sky because it's the last thing left to hope for.

And then we have the Blades. When I was talking about ridiculous weapons, I wasn't expecting living beings, summoned to serve and be bonded to humans, and then cast into memoryless limbo when their Drivers die. Bruh. There’s something gutting about that and it ain't hard to figure out what. Even the strongest characters,like Pyra and Mythra or Pyra/Mythra since they're the sameish? They're constantly dealing with being created for someone else’s purpose. Their journey isn’t just about saving the world and what not, it’s about carving out a self when everyone’s already decided what you’re supposed to be, and it's to be used as a tool.

The whole thing plays out like a soft apocalypse, no one really says it, but you can feel it in the way the Titans groan and the clouds hang heavy, the world is ending. And instead of offering you a simple fix, the story just... lingers there and talks about the hope of somewhere else.

Both Nausicaä and Xenoblade don’t offer easy answers. They just hold up a mirror. Like, here’s what happens when we mess things up... deeply. So what now? And I think that quiet and beautiful challenge from art is more powerful than any sign-waving or tweet thread. It sits with you.

Anyway, Ghibli Fest is on again! Go watch Nausicaä in theater's and be blown away!

[noahleikensohn]

Hi 50caldragon, I very much agree that Hayao Miyazaki is an extremely talented craftsman that masterfully can weave the story beats together with amazing music and score, while balancing an apparent message and the shocking plot points. Every movie Miyazaki makes is beautifully as stunning as it is written, cementing himself as a legend in the anime and filmmaking communities. I also really like how, when you talked about Xenoblade and Elysium you mentioned how it might not be reachable, and I feel this relates to some people’s goals and how their idea of perfection may not truly be attainable. Lastly, I thought that your advertisement for Ghibli Fest was funny.

[noahleikensohn]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind / Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Hey chat! Today I will be first discussing Nausicaa of the valley of the wind, which is considered the first Studio Ghibli movie. Of course, to note the animation is breathtaking as usual as Hayato Miyazaki is masterful at creating stories the fully utilize the 24 frames per second of full animation that his studio uses. With the extremely apparent message of environmental awareness and the allusions to the Minamata Bay disaster, brought me back to my AP Environmental Science class in high school where we discussed these events to extreme horrifying details and learned the effects of mercury on the human body, similarly in my Engineering Design Society class at UF we covered other disasters that harmed people. I bring these up to connect the importance of planning and designing around humans and the importance of Human-Centered designs being able to help prevent or at least slow the effects of a miscalculation. Furthermore, this is a lesson I plan to implement in my hopeful future career as an engineer.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was an interesting piece of media for us to study; I was not prepared to look at video game dialogue as a part of this anime class. While at first, I did not understand it, the lecture helped immensely. First, I only realized that the cloud sea was a personification of climate change worries, but I didn’t think of the idea of the nuclear winter being the clouds. Additionally, Xenoblade offered a very interesting idea of using nanobots to recreate nature and this idea reminded me of a previous topic of Simulcra and Hyperreal, as Klaus had wiped all of nature out and practically sterilized the earth, but then recreated nature with his nanobots doesn’t that mean the world created by nanobots emulating nature is a simulacra of the actual nature that disappeared. Furthermore, wouldn’t the creatures that are born in this new world be considered hyperreal as they either wouldn’t know of real nature or would have to accept their new and only reality.

[matchablossomblog]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I found Neon Genesis Evangelion to be slightly confusing; it honestly was not one of my favorite anime that we watched throughout this course, but I made multiple connections between this anime and the others. One connection I made was between this anime and Spirited Away. In Neon Genesis Evangelion, they speak about how only 14-year-olds can pilot the Evas. In Spirited Away, Chihiro is required to work to fix her parents' mistakes. They share a similarity in children being required to work to clean up the mess of previous generations. Another connection is between Shinji and Nishimiya from A Silent Voice, as both express that they hate themselves. In the 8th episode, I noted that the old men on the ship were skeptical about the 14-year-olds being pilots in charge of protecting and defending humanity. I found this to be important because it reflected a generational conflict between maintaining old methods and attempting new ones. I also found a connection between Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Takemichi Hanagaki from Tokyo Revengers. In both anime, these male protagonists are perceived as weak because they do not conform to society's ideal of a man. They both cry, but a main difference is that Takemichi continues fighting and moving forward despite his doubts and fears while Shinji is forced to. In episode 26, I noted the scene where Rei has toast in her mouth while running late to school. It's a classic cliche seen in many anime where a female student is running late with toast in her mouth and then runs into a male character, such as Romantic Killer and Sailor Moon.

In the movie, I found multiple scenes slightly disturbing. During the part where Rei and Kaworu confront Shinji in her giant form, I found it peculiar that half of her face was distorted, creating a gruesome image, and her attachment to Kaworu was also strange. I was also uncomfortable with how the humans just exploded into orange puddles, and with the depiction of Rei's death. While I did not enjoy those aspects, I think that the verbally narrated message held value.

[noahleikensohn]

Hi matchablossomblog, I was fascinated by your connection to spirited away. Although I did not personally make the connection between Shinji and Chihiro and can definitely see where your coming from as these kids have to work for their future. I also liked your connection of self hatred between A Silent Voice and Shinji. But by far your best comparison was Takemichi from Tokyo Revengers and Shinji, where you made similar points to I on how Takemichi and Shinji are perceived in their animes similarly, yet the defining difference is Shinji gave up on finding a solution and fell into despair.

[noahleikensohn]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hey chat! First things first the opening theme “A Cruel Angel's Thesis” might be one of the greatest anime openings I have ever heard. Not only does it encapsulate the anime’s premise, but it also has its own sense of energy within it. Now on to the actual anime, which starts with humanity fighting things called angels with giant like mecha robots called Evangelion. In this future post apocalyptic world, we have Shinj, our main character, who is a 14 year old boy that has to carry the weight of humanity on his shoulders. Shinji is a naturally timid guy who doesn’t necessarily follow the idea of the military man that is valued in this society. Similarly, I have a couple of friends that would fit in the Queer Masculinity gender role today. One of my friends has many mannerisms that and traits that do not fit todays ideal masculine man, instead of being hurt by this he instead dives into this and expresses his talents in music and is extremely talented at piano and other various instruments. I think that Shinji could have done something similar to my friend instead of him continuously failing to force himself into the ideal military man. Furthermore, I think Shinji could have still used Kaworu as an example of how he could live despite him being an angel. Of course, this comparison is rough as it compares fiction to real life and the circumstance of the real world are currently much more accepting than they are in the anime, but I still think that ultimately Shinji brought upon his own downfall by not continuing to try for a solution. Lastly, the side characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion are pretty much all amazing, I do really like how many of them juxtapose Shinji, especially Asuka, and this shows how he is fearing being worthless to society.

[animatedworld22]

Otaku Community

Before I begin I want to say that I have never been to an anime convention before. I will be referring to the three videos posted in the assignment, but I was fully aware of what typically happens during these conventions and the type of people who attend. My main source of information regarding anime conventions is streamers who I have seen attend these events to mess with otaku who are simply just trying to express their passion for Japanese pop culture. People like attempt to annoy or bother otaku are simply showing the audience how emotionally passionate some fans are for anime. Even in the documentary we see how intense some people are when it comes to cosplaying. For example, Dustbunny reportedly spends days crafting her own pieces that make up the costume. She devotes her life to the craft, because she is so passionate for it. As we travel through the convention we see how diverse the cosplay selection is, and that in most cases there is never a single anime that does not receive some form of representation. As it was stated by one of the cosplayers, these conventions allow for people to give back to their favorite characters and voice actors by embracing their looks and personalities. Similar to acting, people can dissociate themselves with their lives back at home, whether unsatisfactory or mondain, and live in the shoes of a character they envy. We see in the image above an otaku cosplaying as Naruto (at a convention in Tampa, FL). For some cosplayers, they can dress as characters they not only like, but relate too. Say someone lived a neglected childhood, but related to Naruto, now they can express their relationship with this character in real life. To me, I think that in some cases cosplaying can act as an outlet for therapy to troubled individuals of all ages.

Another key characteristic of anime conventions is overwhelming sense of community. As it was stated in the documentary, many otaku reframe from publicly associating with the anime fan base, because of how the rest of society views "geeks" and "nerds" who enjoy Japanese pop culture. However, it is these conventions that offer an outlet to said people, and not only that but it does it in great scale. The documentary claimed that the anime convention held in Baltimore, Maryland recently had as many as twenty thousand attendees, which is a significant increase from the four thousand attendees only years prior. For some, it is simply knowing that there is that many people like them, which gives them confidence to express their passion regardless of how societal norms view it.

The sense of community is the foundation of anime conventions and specifically its the rich diversity that makes these communities so welcoming and familiar. We see in the documentary that there are people of all races, that cosplay as people who are outside of their own race. We see people of all ages, young and old, who are equally passionate for Japanese pop culture. To me the most heart touching thing was seeing the families there. The documentary featured a mom and her two sons who appeared to be dressed up as Naruto characters. Despite the mom not having an interest in anime, she still gives her sons the opportunity to meet a community that they can relate to. As a young otaku in America, it is hard to fit in with some kids that think "weirdos" watch anime. Furthermore, we see a mother and father who dress up, not because they are otaku, but their daughters really wanted to attend a convention and obtain that sense of community.

[noahleikensohn]

Hi animatedworld22, I really liked how talked about streamers (something I forgot to mention) and ended your blog with how being a part of the "Nerd" can be extremely welcoming (and heartwarming with family and friends) and shouldn't be put down. This idea really relates to Gemeinschaft in my eyes as through anime these people were able to join a community in which they can ideally express themselves. Furthermore, I feel almost as if an anime convention is like Genshiken's otkau club where everyone comes in with varying levels of comfortability and knowledge. And expresses their common interests using their unique personalities.

[noahleikensohn]

Convention

Hey chat. This assignment is a bit different since it’s solely talking about my experience at a convention, meaning this will probably have less structure than normal. Anyways, a convention or fan gathering that I will always remember would be when I was in Korea and got to witness part of the Valorant Masters Tournament. While this could be viewed as more of a sporting event, the activities inside the facility would be very different to any sporting event. With so many teams playing in the center and pop-up stands being everywhere it was very much like a convention with a twist. The atmosphere was extreme towards the arena side where the matches were played, you could hear the fans screaming with their team and bathing in competitiveness while in the other areas it would be bustling like a large city market. I saw many people cosplay all of the different characters or agents, and after reflecting on the experience one could say they were otakus for Valorant. Furthermore, at some of these stands I saw people that made their own figurines and adding elements like cat ears and such, which relate to the Moe Elements that captivate our hearts. I even saw some comics laid out, but I am unsure whether they were official or would be considered Dojinshi. While there I had never felt such an influx of cultural capital, as I was a more casual player of the game, I wasn’t as aware of the vastness of knowledge one could have about the game and or the company of Riot Games. As a casual player with a group of friends that also played the game, I was extremely surprised how much the game I loved even during beta had grown to immense proportions. And now thinking back all this comradery was probably very close to some of the attendees’ ideas of their Gemeinschaft. This experience allowed me to relate much more to my sister who with my dad had gone to some other anime conventions and has participated in the cosplay herself. We were able to bond over going to stalls just to see what was there and the curiosity peaking as we got to see someone’s creativity often be sold at these stalls. Additionally, my dad by going to these conventions had his Magic the Gathering obsession rekindled. As some people say “Nerds stick together” I believe that because of these conventions my dad was able to reconnect with his lost interest. Another weird thing that I related to my convention experience was University of Florida’s Preview. Maybe it was all the lanyards or the groupings of people being told when they can go to certain places only at certain times due to the crowding, or maybe it was the curiosity to see what was coming up next on the time slot. Something that amazed me about conventions is how they are able to give away so many things, like I understand its probably built into the ticket price, but there are just so many spin the wheel for discounts or just random handouts of merchandise or back packs, etc. I’d have to wager a guess and say that it an expenditure they make for the atmosphere, but I don’t really know. Lasty, I shall finish this blog post, which became more of a rant by saying that I would like to go and experience an anime convention in which I have not watched the anime. I believe this idea would be interesting as it would probably inspire me to watch said anime and then I would be able to reflect on the convention in a new light.

(had to crop the second photo, was too big for tumblr)

[lucasy11]

Sailor Moon / Aggretsuko / Wandering Son

At first, Aggretsuko seemed like a wholesome, superficial show that didn’t have a message. In the beginning, I actually thought this show resembled the art style seen in Hello Kitty. Though beyond this, you can see that this isn’t like a little kid show; some really deep themes can be drawn from this. One of the things that immediately caught my attention was the normalization of sexism in the workplace. In the first episode, when Retsuko finishes cleaning the boss’s desk, he immediately tells her to make a cup of tea; although this wasn’t that obvious, he tells her to do so because it’s a “women’s job.” Despite this, we see Retsuko dealing with this like it’s all normal and is seen as a hard-working individual in the office. There’s always this pressure on Retsuko that she shouldn’t have a job and instead should be looking to find a man to settle with. Though despite this criticism, I feel that this is a wholesome story about a girl getting used to the workplace. I feel that this story gives a nice glimpse into the workplace and social culture in Japan. In Sailor Moon, I was surprised by how it mixed lighthearted fun with moments of real emotional depth. I found it interesting how the girls were expected to balance being schoolgirls with being warriors, something that mirrors real-life pressures put on young women to manage everything perfectly. The show felt empowering but also emotionally honest. Wandering Son was the most emotionally impactful for me. Watching Shuichi navigate gender identity and acceptance was moving. It made me think about how difficult it must be to feel out of place in your own body, especially in middle school. It’s a quiet, gentle show—but incredibly powerful.

[noahleikensohn]

Hey Lucas, I agree with everything you said! Just to add on seeing as we both thought that Aggretsuko's animation style embodied other popular chibis of animals, reminded me of the previous module about fandom and postmodernity and how the concept of Moe Elements probably created these character designs in addition to the gender identity they were given. Furthermore, I would like to highlight your mentioning of how Sailor moon and the girls had to balance their hero lives and their school lives. I feel as if this can expanded to everyone and anyone that may have a lot on their plate and has trouble with the time management of it all. I believe that Sailor moon reminds us that it is ok to have bad days where not everything gets finished.

[noahleikensohn]

Sailor Moon, Aggretsuko, and Wandering Son

Hey chat, lets start with the anime Aggretsuko. The first thing that garnered my attention was the style of the anime, to me it seemed very reminiscent of the game animal crossing, but this is probably due to the cute animals representing humans. The message the anime portrays is not one to take lightly. Retsuko, aka the main character, has to struggle with maintaining her gender rolled office appearance to keep her job. On a deeper level this anime seems to me to be criticizing how the system for Japanese women in the workplace is just a placeholder and causes many working women to get stuck in limbo. It is expected that these women are only working until they can be married, because of this the office places give the ladies menial tasks. Unfortunately, this system doesn’t even allow for women to prove themselves in the workplace as they have no chance to prove their ability, in turn causing many women who might’ve become great assets for the company leave to get married as the conditions are better. Towards the end of the anime we see Retsuko follow a similar thought process.

Sailor Moon is a classic as an anime and may be on par with dragon ball z at the time. I had always thought that sailor moon could only be considered empowerment for women. I had never really thought about how the idea of Girl Power may be furthering the power of societal gender roles by advertising the performative acts included in the female gender as extremely powerful. Only after the lecture do I now have an additional perspective that empowerment may be used to promote a flawed system.

Lastly, Wondering Son was an interesting watch to say the least. While I couldn’t relate to the struggles with gender identity in the anime, I could definitely find a connection in the idea that the main character having a perceived idea of how people will react positively, just for that reaction to truly be negative. Furthermore, I believe that this anime did an amazing job of showcasing the effect that if something is an act many people may agree, but if it is real and close to them often times the reaction is rejection and disgust. I believe this easily applies to how many people view renewable energy plants nowadays, as many people agree that they should be necessary, but then don’t want these plants anywhere near their property as it may decrease its value by looking ugly.

[lucasy11]

Genshiken

I think this has been a kind of weird watch. One of the things that was apparent with this was how they portrayed fans and the sexualization of characters. Since the beginning of the show, it normalized this sexualization, which was weird, especially having watched this; it was kind of an uncomfortable watch for me, with this constant portrayal. It felt like every episode had at least some reference to this, and it made me think a lot about how normalized such behavior is in certain fan communities. I guess out of all the assigned shows, this has probably been the weirdest. I see the aspects that were talked about in the previous lecture about the moe elements. There are patterns of these elements throughout the characters in the anime they watched, and it became clear how much the club members valued these specific traits. One common aspect that was shown a lot, which the members of the club seem to like a lot, evident in it being a moe element, is the combination of the skirt with long socks. This was pointed out multiple times, and it shows how much attention is placed on small details that create a specific “cute” appeal for the characters. It also made me realize how moe is not just about appearance but about evoking a certain emotional response from fans. Throughout all of this, this anime is eye-opening to say the least. It gives a perspective into a group of people, the "otaku." I feel like at the end of the day, this is a community of people, a community where people of a common interest come together and express their love for it. Although the things they discuss and watch may be kind of questionable, it's nice to see the growth of Sasahara throughout the show. From beginning to end, I feel that he got more comfortable with the club members and overall was able to express himself, having finally found a group of people with whom he could bond over his common interest in anime and dojinshi. His development shows how finding a welcoming group can help someone gain confidence, even if the community itself might seem strange or off-putting to outsiders.

[noahleikensohn]

Hey Lucas, I definitely agree that I personally found it unsettling how much the anime would include sexually charged mentions and then also how normal it seems in their otaku club. I figured though, that because I am so used to American societal values that this may be just a disconnect from the 2 cultures. I also agree that Sasahara’s growth was nice to see as he became more comfortable in his skin. I also thought that to Sasahara this otaku club may become something like a Gemeinschaft for him, even though he is grown and probably wouldn’t add too much to his foundational beliefs.

[noahleikensohn]

Genshiken

Hi chat! This was my first time watching a slice of life like Genshiken, in which we follow the daily lives of students that are a part of an otaku club. The story began with Sasahara Kinji, who was a shy student that joined the club in hopes of making friends and embracing his interests. This reminds me of my own personal experience at the start of COVID. At the time I was floating around friend groups and really didn’t belong to any one group, then COVID happened and communication with these groups, but one group started forming as we shared an interest in a Minecraft server and began a discord group chat. This group chat proceeded to really explode once the game Valorant came out as we would all stay up for hours to play this newfound game with each other, this propelled our friend group and strengthened our relationships with each other. After COVID was over and we all started to go to the same high school the bonds we created did not dissipate and began to become real life group hangouts. Furthermore, my friends from this group are still close with me, and most of them will be coming to UF in the fall.

I feel as if through this anime a similar message about stereotypes in broadcasted. Similar to the NEETs, the Otakus have their own negative stereotype in society, but as Genshiken portrays, many of these otakus serve fulfilling lives and can separate their fictions from reality. I believe this is best shown when the American comes to the convention and starts openly expressing her interests in explicit topics, driving some other the character into a deep state of embarrassment. Showing how the even though they have interests in similar topics they can recognize that talking about them in public is at the very least awkward.

[ufliaprice]

Naruto / Wolf Children / A Silent Voice

Starting off with Naruto. I hadn’t watched it before now, even though it is one of the major anime series to watch. I definitely want to go back and watch it at some point in time. There was a good list of things that I noticed when watching it. The first thing is that there are two sides to war. Each side fights for what they believe to be right. War is extremely subjective, and you must look at things from an outside perspective to truly get the scope of things. We are subject to our own opinions; however, each side of the war is fighting for their own reasons and beliefs. Naruto, in this case, stands for what we all truly want in the end – peace and prosperity.

On to Wolf Children. I’m going to be so real and say that I was sobbing 20 minutes into the movie. However, even though tears were shed, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was so beautifully sad. Very bittersweet. Some things that stood out to me were the points about overcoming diversity and being true to yourself. This applies to the real world. Many people have the fear of being their true, authentic selves. There is someone out there, whether it be a partner or a guardian figure in your life, who will love you for who you are, regardless of the flaws that you may think you have. They will find these things to be beautiful.

And finally, A Silent Voice. I have already watched this one in the past; however, this rewatch hit a lot closer to home than it did the first time. To me, this was not just about discrimination, but also about forgiveness and second chances. The ability to forgive not just others, but yourself as well. And it’s also about self-awareness and being able to accept that some things that have been done will never truly be ok. You have to learn to accept that and do better while moving forward. To me, this was a story about loving others, regardless of where they came from or what they look like. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed watching every single piece of media in this module.

[noahleikensohn]

Hi therealphoenix007, I really like your take on how through the war between Naruto and Pain, there are no bad ideals and that war is subjective. I’d like to expand on that idea by expressing how important history is to understanding everything. As the saying goes “History is written by the victors”, and I believe that this skew of history has given the foundation to what people base their own morality of right and wrong off of. Also, I similarly wrote about how in A Silent Voice the message of self-healing and self-acceptance is expressed. Personally, I really like how the X’s on peoples faces were peeled off, as Shoya gains new perspective showing his journey of healing in a way on animation could.

[noahleikensohn]

Naruto | Wolf Children | A Silent Voice

Revisiting Naruto and Naruto Shippuden was a trip down memory lane for me. Firstly, after learning about the terms Gaman and Ganbaru, I can see how most shonen, especially Naruto, have the formulaic hero’s journey following adversity to become stronger. Furthermore, I realize now that this formula is what is so addicting about the shonen genre, the viewer can get hooked on the constant progression of strength that many shonen main characters have. It is easy for the viewer to get sucked into living vicariously through these characters as unlike real life, their progress is ideal, linear, and measurable. I would say that Naruto, while exhibiting both, leans towards the Gaman trait as his nindo (ninja way) or personal belief is not giving up, while on the other end Naruto does have to train, but he also has much natural talent compared to the average shinobi.

Next, this was my first time watching Wolf Children. Personally, I somewhat relate to the children were going through, as I am half Korean and half American, I also struggled with dual identities when I was younger. But, since I primarily grew up in America, I have dismissed much of my Korean identity, even forgetting how to speak the language fluently. I believe this result is most likely a result of my community having much more American society and structure, while having very little Korean influence. In this anime, we were introduced to the ideas of an ideal small community (Gemeinschaft) and the idea of a big society (Gesellschaft). Though it can be argued that the idea of Gemeinschaft is key to the core identity of people’s personality, I do not believe that a true Gemeinschaft free from society exists, much like how in A Place Further Than the Universe we discussed how there cannot be a place fully free from capitalism, meaning that society is in everyday life.

Lastly, A Silent Voice was so extremely well made! Watching Shoya attempt to redeem himself and go through all the realizations of change and his wrong doings gives hope to the watcher that no matter what their past they can improve themselves and help others. Furthermore, Shouko’s innocent attempts to become friends with everyone and her persistence made it even more heart wrenching when we see how she truly feels and attempts to commit suicide. Additionally, I love how the movie bookends itself where Shoya at first was going to jump to kill himself but then jumps at the end to save Shouko.

[animatedworld22]

What I found most interesting about this anime was time period that it took place. Despite the anime having been set in the future after society is built on the foundation of telekinesis, society looks to have digressed as high level technology is rarely if even at all shown throughout the anime. It seems now that society's focus has shifted from advancing technology to now advancing in telekinetic practices.

This anime in particular was chalk full of references of the so called "wild child" case. It was the possibility of fiends that everyone was so obsessed with preventing that drove the human population to kill of any children who did not show signs of telekinetic ability. Throughout Saki's childhood, there was a constant paranoia that she herself would be eliminated if she didn't begin to show signs of telekinetic powers. Despite her parents knowing that Saki is a good child at heart, even they would fear for their safety if Saki was left to live with the ability to kill humans and not be killed for it. Another point I would like to make is in regards to the picture above, the character shown seemed to possess what was at the time the highest and most powerful level of telekinesis exhibited in any of the villagers, which we can make the assumption that he is a master of high status. However, despite his overwhelming strength and ability, he was still obliterated by the fiend as it was his social contract that made it impossible for him to kill another human being. I feel as if the anime is critiquing the way in which society is responding to potential threats in younger kids. That a system of constant surveillance and harsh punishments for children who step out of line is ultimately going to lead to chaos. The adults should be trying to understand what makes children violent and not simply snuff them out, because they are to ignorant to understand.

[noahleikensohn]

Hey animatedworld22, I agree that the society in Shin Sekai Yori seemed to have mass hysteria along with paranoia as nobody questioned the murdering of young children. Furthermore, it seems that in the future setting not only did the technology digress but also the standards of ethics and morality. I also agree that the anime is fore warning the idea of an extremely surveilled society, and how that would have to come from an extremely devastating event causing the masses to fear. Additionally, I took interest in how everyone, almost in a selfish way, was only thinking about their own safety and preserving their own lives which caused the extreme disconnect.

[noahleikensohn]

Shin Sekai Yori

Shin Sekai Yori what definitely not what I originally thought. I was shocked to find out, as the anime progressed, that it was a psychological horror. Furthermore, the change from a utopian society to a dystopian one and having this change shown that the children lost their innocence was extremely impressive. I feel as if this progression follows the progression of an average child’s life as they cannot wait to grow up, until the responsibility and their viewpoints are altered and stained with reality. At the heart of the anime is Japan’s historical tension between tradition and control. The society portrayed in the anime is peaceful on the surface, but it's built on the complete surveillance and manipulation of its citizens, especially its children. This mirrors aspects of Japanese culture where societal harmony is prized, often at the cost of individual expression. In the anime, students who exhibit instability or question the system are quietly "removed," reflecting real-world pressures in Japan such as academic conformity, mental health stigma, and overwork culture. To relate this personally as a Korean, I have seen the lengths students will go to for their studies. Many students’ schedules are waking up and going to school, and then going to a study group immediately after, and then being tutored to which they leave to study even more by themselves making their way home around 1am. Additionally, if the students don’t follow this obsessive behavior they are shunned by society and their families.

I believe that the Queerats are symbolization for how in history many groups have been oppressed and suffered from dehumanization. Much like slavery and racism, where after slavery was outlawed, the Jim crow laws were put into effect to allow people to continue being racist and dehumanize the newly freed. Also, the Queerats challenge the viewer by questioning their controlling groups justification, a real-life example being questioning a country’s justification for involving itself in a war. Shin Sekai Yori symbolized many different real-life atrocities and had the viewers question the morality of who their leader is.

[matchablossomblog]

Psycho-Pass

In Psycho-Pass, episode 5, the inspectors and enforcers discuss digital avatars and the online world. I thought this related to Sword Art Online, where players start with different avatars, and how the digital world can seem so realistic to people in the real world. Another element I noticed in Psycho-Pass was in episode 15. In this episode, an elderly couple was the victim of a robbery by a man in a mask. The robber told them to give him their cash because he believed that elderly individuals hid money under their mattresses, which is a belief that could exist in the real world, stemming from distrust towards banks and other systems meant to secure money. However, the couple reveals that they do not hide money in their house. I found this confession interesting because in many anime, like Spirited Away, A Place Further Than the Universe, and Eden of the East, most of the middle-aged and elderly population seek preservation and are unwilling to change societal norms that worked for their time. This development led me to believe that the couple adjusted to a society with technological advancements and trusted the system since they decided not to hide their money somewhere in their house. This surprising aspect also revealed how the Sibyl System gained control of everyone, including the elderly. Another part that I found interesting was Makishima's discussion regarding the books he read in the past and how he thought their current society was similar to the ones in those novels. He also discusses the society in George Orwell's stories, and claims that their oppressive society is not as controlling. I thought his contrast was compelling because I immediately thought of George Orwell's 1984 while watching this anime, before I reached episode 15. The Sibyl System reminded me of the extreme surveillance and the way that such a system influences the citizens' well-being in 1984. Furthermore, the thorough surveillance in the anime and its restrictions on the freedom of the people also led to another similarity in 1984, with how the citizens have thorough discipline since they live in a surveillance society.

[noahleikensohn]

I definitely agree with your take on how it was surprising to see the elderly not preserving their money, but I believe that in this world WW2’s effects make have not been so drastic in which cause the economic bubble of Japan to collapse and so forth caused much more elderly people to withhold their money from the economy. I really like your argument that the elderly people would be much more resistant to this change in the real world, as this follows the Lifecycle Effects of political theory, where as one ages they become more conservative. I also mentioned the similarities between George Orwell’s 1984 and Psycho-Pass and believe that the Sybil system is based on Big Brother.