Part of the reason why I find Fuuta singing in pre-war Japanese so interesting is because, up until now, he’s always been a character focused on progress, thematically. An intense focus on the internet, technology in its many forms, and progressive views. Even spraypaint is associated with rebellion, punk, and the like.
But, of course, religion is associated with its opposite. Stagnation, or regression, perhaps. “Traditional values”… While we don’t know much about Amaneism quite yet, we know that Amane’s original cult stressed a refusal of modern medicine, and the values of purity/non-vulgarity.
So now, Fuuta is singing in such old Japanese that many Japanese viewers either borderline or outright do not understand him. From “progress” to “regress”, from the future to the past.
it's hilariously ironic that the people uncritically bashing and clowning on Mikoto's writing and his representation as someone with DID, in which they do so in hopes of "combatting misinformation and stereotypes"... are the exact people who make me, someone with DID, feel unsafe and invalidated and are actually triggering fun bouts of denial in myself
"where's his Extreme Childhood Trauma?" "that's not how it works!" "what do you mean he was well-liked and popular and had friends growing up? (why wasn't he miserable?)" "what do you mean his family was a normal middle class household? (why wasn't he being terrorized and tortured?)"
Meta Voting, Milgram, and Why You Should Inno Sweep Trial 3
One thing that I've always admired about MILGRAM is how clearly and frequently the series reiterates that you can vote whichever way you like for whatever reasons you like. A genuine judgment of the crime, an attempt to reach a "happy ending," what most benefits your fave, a ritual to get concert tickets-- as Jackalope says, all of these are equally valid ways to participate in the MILGRAM project. The anything-goes policy makes it really easy to introduce the series to new people, as you can assure them that there's no "wrong" way to vote. Everything is open for discussion, as the project itself refuses to railroad you towards one conclusion or another.
... So, with that philosophy as the project's baseline, why have Deco and Yamanaka tried to stop us from voting everyone innocent in Trial 3?
Many people in the MILGRAM fandom have seen and internalized the message from Yamanaka that "if we vote everyone innocent in Trial 3, they'll show us hell." However, I've begun to question whether this is advice we're really meant to follow.
As most MILGRAM fans already know, the MILGRAM project is based off of the real-life experiments performed by Stanley Milgram in 1961. In it, real college students were brought in to perform in an experiment alongside (unbeknownst to them) actors. All of the students were assigned the role of "teachers," and all of the actors were assigned the role of "learners." The learners were brought into an interrogation room, where they were hooked up to (fake) electric torture devices operated by the teachers. The "experimenters" (the scientists running the study) would tell the teachers to continuously shock the learners any time they failed to correctly repeat memorized content, with the punishments getting more and more drastic with each failure. In reality, the experiment attempted to test how much a person would be willing to hurt others while under the instruction of someone seemingly knew better. The results of Stanley Milgram's study showed that the teachers became very willing to hurt other people because someone told them to do so.
MILGRAM recreates this setup with its characters. Our ten prisoners are the learners, and while they aren't actors, their fictional nature fulfills the same purpose as the actors, making it so that no one is really being harmed through the results of our votes. Jackalope is the experimenter, because he's the one telling us to cast the votes, while Es is the teacher, as the person following instructions with very little context. Or at least, this is what the project wants us to believe.
In MILGRAM, it's pretty clear that, while Es is a person in their own right, they're also the stand-in for us as the audience. Obviously, we as real-life people are the ones actually casting the votes for who's innocent and who's guilty on the MILGRAM website and app. But that meta aspect of the project is also directly referred to within the project itself, as Es struggles with their identity as a person instead of a thought collective in many of the audio dramas. Therefore, in relation to the Milgram experiment, I would argue that we, the viewers are the equivalent to the Milgram experiment's "teachers," not Es. They're more so, like, the button that's being pressed.
However, if we're willing to accept that Es as their own entity isn't really the one being tested by the voting system, then I think we need to consider whether Jackalope as his own entity is really the one who's testing us with the voting system. Us viewers aren't really being jerked around and told to vote by the cartoon rabbit himself; we're being told to participate in the show's direction via our votes by the real-life creators of the project, Deco and Yamanaka. Thus, Jackalope is not the experimenter in this metaphor, Deco and Yamanaka are. And these experimenters have only given us one steadfast rule: "don't vote everyone innocent in Trial 3.
Hurt these characters because we told you to do so."
If the teachers in the real Milgram project wanted to "beat" the system, they needed to take a stand for themselves and say that enough was enough, refusing to administer lethal electric shocks to the learners. While Jackalope hasn't really told us to do anything, Deco and Yamanaka have. Therefore, I theorize that if we want to "beat" MILGRAM and get the best possible ending, we have to vote all of the characters innocent in the third trial. While refusing to pass verdicts by giving everyone an even 50:50 would probably be even better, the odds of that happening are basically impossible, so to the extent that MILGRAM was built with a win condition in mind, I think this has to be it.
While it might seem scary to directly defy authority in that way, deciding against defying authority was exactly how the Milgram experiment's teachers failed the test of kindness that was put before them. Not to mention, choosing forgiveness seems to fit with the question Undercover posits of whether it's really okay to judge/punish someone based merely on your own opinion, and an interview I saw once (but couldn't find again, sorry) where Yamanaka said that one of his goals with Milgram was to get his audience to think harder about so-called "villains" they might see on the news or the internet, and what circumstances might have led them into that situation.
As someone who self-identifies as a meta voter in MILGRAM, it's my belief that the heart of meta voting has always been an attempt to help everyone. We didn't vote Amane guilty in T1 or Muu guilty in T2 because we hated them, but because we thought that telling Amane that the methodology of her church was wrong and reeling back Muu's blame-shifting would be the best thing for their personal growth. Even if we were seemingly very, very wrong about what was best in some circumstances, every choice was made in an attempted act of love.
For any fellow meta-voters who feel the same (or non-meta voters who are willing to dip their toes into voting meta-textually for the sake of the characters' happiness), I encourage you to vote everyone innocent in Trial 3, as I believe it's the most likely path to the happiest ending we have available to us. It's scary to throw the prisoners we've tried so hard to protect directly into the line of fire of something we've been told is "hell," but hopefully this little essay has managed to convince you that that "hell" might just be a false premise designed to keep us in line.
Thank you for reading, and here's to a non-soul-crushing T3~!
on one hand kazui t3 is genuinely really heartbreaking and the best writing in milgram so far by a mile, but on the other hand it’s really really funny to canonize him as a bottom in the midst of all of this. like i can’t even say “live ur truth king” because that sent him to jail
Okay, I analyzed Neoplasm's translation on Mihareze yesterday and I think that Mikosys were rapid switching, until John came out.
First off: I'm just a singlet, who is really crazy about psychology and Mikosys, so I'm not an expert at all. I studied psychology for 1,5 year, until I got expelled, because money. (My grades were excellent though and I miss my group a loooot. Anyway, I have some basic knowledge about psychology.) I also lurk in OSSDID subreddit, read articles, I started Mr. Robot recently, I read a lot of different takes from different people about Mikosys (and other fictional characters, who have/is coded as DID/OSDD), so I'm in the middle of the research.
I also don't know any japanese and I am fully aware, that there can be some translation errors.
So feel free to complain and point out any mistakes in my thinking, BE BLUNT. (Especially if you are a system/have better knowledge about psychology/know japanese)
Edit: Also, it's just a theory, there can be 293848 reasons for him having different dialects/accents etc and Requiem and The One can alternate everything I ever wrote about 09
Anyway:
This feels like he was disociating really hardly, until he finally "waked up". And because he just saw the chains and was surprised about it, I assume, that it was John earlier and Jackalope propably tied him to the chair with his psychic powers (Since Jacka did the same in the novel once).
(And I don't think, that Es could want to do it by themself sjsbxhdb)
Specifically, I think that it would be T1 John, since he uses different way of spelling ore:
And he uses different dialect:
T2 John also seems more relaxed, but he isn't surprised by the chains, sooo I don't really have anything to support it xd It's just a hinch, that T1 John would be more likely to come out, when Jackalope was tying them to the chair, since he's the more aggresive one (physical abuse protector?)
Anyway, this Mikoto also seems to be different than T1 Mikoto, because T1 Mikoto speaks in standard japanese, while T2 Mikoto speaks in Kanto dialect. (Though they both use the kanji spelling of "boku")
Also, I'm not sure if it's not a translation error or something else, but the adnotation about Kanto dialect doesn't appear at the begging of the interrogation, so it feels like he switched during it, buuuut other adnotations feel like he was talking Kanto dialect the whole time (I'm clueless here xd)
Anyway, there's a pasue:
And the third adnotation is about Kanto dialect:
The fourth is about falling pitch in boku, associated with childish way of speaking (child alter?) and it feels like they switched, when Es was talking (and propably started dissociating, when he said "here"), because when I was listening to it, the "huh" sounded like "Wait, can you repeat?" xd Buuut idk
We have a pause again, and the fifth adnotation is about talking in "cute" way, like a high school girl.
And here we have John finally:
Sixth adnotation is about Edo dialect/Kanto "roughspeak"
It also seems interesting, that he (she?) said, what he/she said, because it feels like they had this experience of amnesia for a long time.
John also said, that Mikoto (kanji spelling of boku) was the one, who wanted to destroy everything, so it feels like he was the one, who killed and giving the fact how he was screaming on s2 trailer... I feel like Mikosys were really miserable in the time and was through A LOT.
I'm suspicious not only about his father but also about his mom? She also have to have her own issues, so I imagine, that their relationship isn't sunshine and rainbows too, but they're definitelly close. (It can be because I'm myself also a child of divorced parents and while I love my mom, who raised me and my brother, ugh, I hate her a lot too, we said really awful things to each other and she's the reason of the most of the issues I have)
So I imagine that Mikoto's mom loved him deeply and they are very close, but she wasn't the best mom ever too. I headcanon parentification, maybe some alcohol addiction, idk
And we can't really trust Mikoto, when he says, that everything's alright xd He can lie, not say the whole truth or remember it wrong
I'm also leaning more and more into Mikoto being a polyfrag subsystem xd But who knows
This image is suspicious too xd:
(Also it would be fine as a symbolism, if there were 9 alters in the system)
Edit: I did the math xd Right now I can count 8:
1. T1 Mikoto (standard japanese, kanji boku)
2. MeMe Mikoto, but it can be just John spelling boku with katakana for some reason, sooo idk (in the verse that says "I'll (katakana) be the one to save me (kanji)"
3. T1 John (Yonezawa dialect, ore in kanji)
4. T2 Mikoto (Kanto dialect, kanji boku)
5. Mikoto with boku with falling pitch (still kanji)
[this is directly crossposted from a youtube comment i wrote on the trial 3 primer.]
let the story happen.
i assure you that pointing fingers and getting mad over t2 inno amane will not help ANYONE and is an overall unhealthy, toxic hill to die on in terms of plot progression discussions. jackalope seeds a lot of doubt but i don't doubt that he was right that kotoko attacking in the t1~t2 was the big turning point.
if we used network theory a lot of negative outcomes/domino effects that happened in t2 and t3 can be averted simply by having kotoko voted t1 guilty. would disaster have struck? ab-so-lutely, haruka would still have been deranged and amane would've been high-risk - and you all would've still been pointing fingers about bad things happening.
so just vote with your hearts, campaign for verdicts as you please - but let the story happen without getting so heated.
remember that milgram is still a media project, a work of fiction, and you should always take a step back if you get so mad over an anime child killing your waifu.
milgram is a social experiment, not an arg where there's a singular "correct" answer. i need to recheck but if i remember right yamanaka does have a background in psychology.
i don't think any of the events that occurred so far are "punishments" for "wrong votes" so much as interconnected cause and effect. they happen because conditions permit it.
as someone with a background in ecology, network theory explains a LOT about the prison's environment. the prison is dehumanizing and the prisoners have issues, which leads to so-and-so, so if something changes (the verdicts) it can lead to intense cascades.
a lot of people who engage with milgram make the mistake of dehumanizing the prisoners and then think they're doing them a favor - lots of "demon amane" arguments for example flatten shidou into being "the doctor" to guilt people who voted her inno, when he's got his own platter of messed-up inclinations. i don't doubt that with a different combination of verdicts we could've gotten a route where shidou becomes the main threat of the prison, and that applies to EVERYONE save for maybe yuno, kazui and to a certain extent muu.
it's honestly a weird WEIRD combo of fandom misogyny, fandoms increasingly not knowing how to interact with child characters, and people feeling weirdly possessive over a work of fiction someone else wrote.
this got long but i could definitely write an academic paper on the phenomena. alas i'm an ecologist not a psychologist
(Also Known As: Kotoko has fascist ideals and I read way too many wikipedia pages for this.)
(CWs: Discussion centered around Prejudice, ableism, sexism, and other topics that are associated with right winged/fascist concepts)
(Note: I went on this rabbit hole because of This post from Gunsli that covers things I don't cover here. Go read it! Plus this post exists because of a lot of conversations from friends out of fandom, and in fandom, like 74n5n and the affermentioned Gunsli who also helped in proofreading!)
So Kotoko is one of my personal favorites of the cast. There's a lot of things I find interesting and intriguing about her and her characterization and her place in the story.
One of those things is her worldview. I'm obsessed with it to say the least. It's one of my favorite things about her characterization. I find it to be a complex and emphatic look at a specific worldview:
Fascism.
Vigilante Justice
Okay so, fascism as an ideology is something we tend to associate with conservative right-wingers and powerful political parties. In our stories, there's a bit of a mythical edge to the image of fascist dystopia. Something strong and uniform.
Like, a lot of cartoons and shows and comics have the alternate nazi dimension where fascism reigns supreme over the populace, for example. We got many films and shows of the heroes standing up against faceless images of Evil Nazis or Nazi-likes, with leaders who are powerful scientists or soldiers hiding somewhere scheming something.
We can tell if someone is a fascist, we say to ourselves. The aesthetic qualities of fascism are something we can all recognize. Right?
Kotoko Yuzuhira is a (notably afab, put a pin in this) college dropout vigilante.
This is immediately incompatible with how we tend to view it. She's not a faceless drone or general. She's someone working with limited resources trying to hunt down evil because The Law can't do it.
A Underdog Revolutionary, that's how she thinks of herself.
Kotoko: Yes. I hate evil. Hurting innocent people with violence, taking away from others, killing people… I hate all this evil behaviour! The law being unable to judge some sins, there's too many of these cases in this world. Having clearly bullied and torturing the weak, but exploiting loopholes in laws, there's so many sinners who still live in such a carefree manner! Even though I want to change this world, I alone only have this much power.
Kershaw argues that the difference between fascism and other forms of right-wing authoritarianism in the Interwar period is that the latter generally aimed "to conserve the existing social order", whereas fascism was "revolutionary", seeking to change society and obtain "total commitment" from the population.[47]
Robert O. Paxton finds that even though fascism "maintained the existing regime of property and social hierarchy", it cannot be considered "simply a more muscular form of conservatism" because "fascism in power did carry out some changes profound enough to be called 'revolutionary.'"[228] These transformations "often set fascists into conflict with conservatives rooted in families, churches, social rank, and property."
And that's what she...is. I'm not going to say Kotoko is part of a secret evil organization or anything like that. She is an underdog, at least at the start of Milgram. She's a single individual up against society and social order. A Heroic individual standing up against erroneous social structures.
Really, Kotoko presents as very classically heroic, she's directly acting to save people, confident, doing real research, actually finding those who deserve punishment and bringing it upon them.
She's determined, she's strong willed, even when she's suffering she doesn't stop.
T2Q6: Don’t you feel scared of killing people?
A: If it’s for the world. How I feel about it is completely irrelevant.
It's sad and tragic, but she knows that if no one does it then nothing will actually change.
Kotoko: If you brag about hating evil, act against it! Carry on the belief that your actions can change this world! If you only brag about it from afar, the world will just continue to rot no matter how many of you are there!
She holds no attachment, no qualms, no second guesses. She does what is good at the cost of her own self, she's a heroic ideal in that sense. A hero so willing to do what is right even at the cost of their own self.
T2Q14: Don’t you feel a sense of isolation in your current situation?
A: It feels like nothings changed. If the world gets even a little better just by me undertaking this isolation, then that is the role the strong play.
Someone who actually has the strength and intelligence to do the things that no one else can do.
T2Q7: Why did you choose law school?
A: Because I have my suspicions. That’s the majority of my reason to why I chose to study it. Cause it’s unsightly to spout complaints without having proper knowledge
T1Q4: When did you start learning martial arts?
A: In elementary school, perhaps. Without enough power, you can't enforce justice and do the right thing, can you?
Who actually acts instead of just waiting around for the world to fix itself.
Kotoko: You keep asking for it, but as soon as it happens near you by your own choice, you all start complaining and evading your responsibility... You're always like this... Always such idiots!
Able to actually handle the problems thrown at her, instead of running away like a coward.
T2Q20: What would you have done if you weren’t forgiven?
A: I’d despise it all. To compromise justice just because you’re unable to withstand the pain that comes with it is unbelievable
Fascism supports the creation of a New Man who is a strong-willed, dynamic archetype, a figure of direct action and bellicose violence. An anti-individualist, he is characterized by a sense of confidence and masculinity, quiet dignity and self-worth, determination, and authoritativeness. With a detachment from romantic love, family background and schooling, his worldview is romanticized, passionate, serious and realist, preoccupied with the honoring of fallen heroes, a strong belief in personal responsibility, national rebirth and renewal.
And there's something genuinely admirable about that intent of hers. It's sincere. She's disgusted at the state of the world, at how horrible it's become. Even implying that this isn't the Normal version of the world, but a distorted, corrupted one.
Becoming light-headed again, it all becomes crazy The normalcy sought for, Fading away, Everytime death comes The soul moves forward
1. The mythical past—used to invoke a nostalgia for a fictional time when the nation was great as it was not yet sullied by the “Other.”
Kotoko's ideology is built on an idea of the world's Unnatural Impurity. The idea that there is something corrupting and poisoning it. That Whatever is causing harm to the world is an External Thing. One that can be beaten if she puts enough pressure on it. At least for a while.
T2Q5: How do you deal with evil that can’t be bested by strength?
A: Force it so that it can. No matter how long it takes, no matter what means I’ll need to use.
So I ask the question, what Does she consider evil?
Sinners
Okay, so she already answered this question, in her T1 interrogations she describes evil as:
T1Q20: What do you think is evil?
A: Oppressing innocent weaklings.
Which is a pretty cut and dry answer that she elaborates on in her VDs:
Kotoko: Yes. I hate evil. Hurting innocent people with violence, taking away from others, killing people… I hate all this evil behaviour! The law being unable to judge some sins, there's too many of these cases in this world. Having clearly bullied and torturing the weak, but exploiting loopholes in laws, there's so many sinners who still live in such a carefree manner!
Case Closed! We don't have to think more about this! Everyone go home! The post is done!
... Okay so it's not as simple as that. It's pretty clear that Kotoko's opinions on evil and how it should be treated is a bit...
Kotoko: Treat you like a child? Hah, you’ve got to be kidding. Back when I was your age, I was already the person I am today. I don’t have any plans to let you get away with something just “because you’re a child.” ……remember that.
Extreme, to say the least. She's very "Violence First." Because:
T2Q16: Do you think there are the ‘weak’ among the other prisoners?
A: I’m sure there’s a lot. Those with weak wills will easily turn to evil. The only thing we can do is firmly instil the risk of turning to it.
Which- There's another contradiction! She just defined evil as the ones who oppress weaklings, yet right here she shows her disdain for the weak for so easily turning to evil.
And again, in the same trial, she refers to the prisoners as:
T2Q11: Is there really no chance to start anew for wrongdoers?
A: No way. Once a beast gets a taste for human flesh, it will always come back for seconds.
And continues to discuss the matters of the strong, and how there oppressing the weak.
T2Q10: What is your ideal image of a hero?
A: An ally of the weak. Someone who helps the weak and crushes the strong.
These are two very conflicting ideas. It's almost like:
Fascist societies rhetorically cast their enemies as "at the same time too strong and too weak". On the one hand, fascists play up the power of certain disfavored elites to encourage in their followers a sense of grievance and humiliation. On the other hand, fascist leaders point to the decadence of those elites as proof of their ultimate feebleness in the face of an overwhelming popular will.
And not only that- Kotoko casts herself as an underdog, and the assumption of that role is presuming one as "weaker than" or "having less opportunity/power/skill" than the one above, the elites above her who are stronger and more powerful than her. The Beasts who roam the land. Who will always win, because, in her own words.
T2Q18: What would you do if evil disappeared from the world?
A: I see where you’re getting at. But I believe it will never truly disappear.
"Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy" because "life is permanent warfare" – there must always be an enemy to fight. Both fascist Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini worked first to organize and clean up their respective countries and then build the war machines that they later intended to and did use, despite Germany being under restrictions of the Versailles treaty to not build a military force. This principle leads to a fundamental contradiction within fascism: the incompatibility of ultimate triumph with perpetual war.
Kotoko: How amusing! Are you really a warden?
Es: Shut up...
Kotoko: You let their sins off just because they're close to you? You're making the punishment less severe just because they get along with you? What's next? Going to give them leniency for their looks? For their personality? For how long have you known them?
Es: I told you... to shut up...
Kotoko: Why would I? I'm trying to tell you the truth. In MILGRAM, a warden with mindset of yours is just usele-
Es: Shut the hell up! [slaps]
Kotoko: [catching breath] "Violence"... you call it? Being angry at hurting your precious prisoners... [laughs] Ha... It's not even violence at all.
Es: ?..
Kotoko: Weak... You're too weak. With that fragile body of yours, you can't stop anyone. You can't protect anyone. You can't even do your justice. All imperfect.
Es: Imperfect?..
Kotoko: In order to stop someone, you have to squeeze their throat. Without mercy.
There's this sort of...self victimization to it? If that makes sense.
6. Victimhood—casting “Us” as victims of “Them”, who are taking resources from “Us” and demanding special rights.
A sense of frustration and anger at herself and the world for being so weak and pathetic.
A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood
And that these feelings of weakness and shame are real reasons to attack who she views as enemies. No matter if they are strong.
the belief that one’s group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies, both internal and external;
Or weak.
Because Kotoko holds a lot of genuine anger at who she considers "weak." As shown above and in Many other instances. She literally calls them "Useless weaklings" in her T2 voiceline. She has this Deep Anger and Bitterness at those who she considers not doing enough to help. To those who are failing to actually do anything of actual substance.
Kotoko: How ridiculous... It's always like this... All of you weaklings always act like this... All of you enjoy seeing someone getting hurt...
(...)
Kotoko: You keep asking for it, but as soon as it happens near you by your own choice, you all start complaining and evading your responsibility... You're always like this... Always such idiots!
Es: I acknowledge it. You're the strong one, and we're weak. You're right. But that's how we are.
Kotoko: You have no power, and yet you make no effort to gain it! You're talking about justice, but it just doesn't make sense! You're invested in people's disasters, yet you take a position of "I have nothing to do with it"! You can't even face your true selves!
"Contempt for the weak", which is uncomfortably married to a chauvinistic popular elitism, in which every member of society is superior to outsiders by virtue of belonging to the in-group. Eco sees in these attitudes the root of a deep tension in the fundamentally hierarchical structure of fascist polities, as they encourage leaders to despise their underlings, up to the ultimate leader, who holds the whole country in contempt for having allowed him to overtake it by force.
So, if the words strong and weak just refer to the enemy, and those descriptors of the enemy can change depending on which one is more suitable for the situation. Thus making the idea of the evil that are "oppressing innocent weaklings" be more a subjective concept.
Then...what else can we search for when it comes to determining how Kotoko views who is "evil."
Cause, it's not just because they don't agree with her. It wouldn't have mattered if they agreed with her or not really. Yuno says it outright:
Yuno: Really? If you ask me, Kotoko is someone I would never want to make my friend, though. She’s the type who picks a conclusion from the very beginning and won’t actually talk with you.
Kotoko has stated that she has been tracking Mikoto Kayano since the start. Even though at the time she was semi-amicable with everyone. With Mikoto even being rather insistent that he did nothing wrong at all.
Kotoko: Like me being suspicious of Kayano Mikoto’s actions, carefully tracking his actions, it's all under your permission.
And she's said this again in the interrogation! Saying that she had "her suspicions."
T2Q17: Why did you choose law school?
A: Because I have my suspicions. That’s the majority of my reason to why I chose to study it. Cause it’s unsightly to spout complaints without having proper knowledge
Suspicious about what? About who? She says it's the evil, the sinners, but who is this? Who is this evil? Criminals? That's just the terminology she uses. If it really was just criminals shouldn't she be against MILGRAM? Es? They did kidnap her and she has no Knowledge of their true intentions, and yet she doesn't trust her fellow prisoners but the Guard who locked them up.
"Obsession with a plot" and the hyping-up of an enemy threat. This often combines an appeal to xenophobia with a fear of disloyalty and sabotage from marginalized groups living within the society (such as the German elite's "fear" of the 1930s Jewish populace's businesses and well-doings; see also antisemitism). Eco also cites Pat Robertson's book The New World Order as a prominent example of a plot obsession.
And so, I ask again. Who does Kotoko believe to be evil?
"Your Existence is a Crime"
Chauvinism (/ˈʃoʊvɪnɪzəm/ SHOH-vih-nih-zəm) is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior.
Kotoko Canonically Holds Ableist Beliefs.
This isn't up for debate.
22/12/15 (Kotoko’s Birthday)
Kotoko: Hm. The border between the two is getting a lot vaguer. Your entire existence is a crime. And I will see you’re punished for it. That is what Milgram, and Es, and I have chosen.
“UNDER” Doltish “001 Parasite”
Kotoko: “Fufufu, fufufufufu.You’re thinking some outrageous things.To be frank, it’s abnormal. But I don’t dislike it. If only all sinners were like you.”
Kotoko Also Canonically Holds Sexist Beliefs.
This also isn't up for debate.
Futa: Isn’t that obvious? What a stupid question. There’s no way a girl could win in a fight against a man. This is real life, not a manga. There’s too big a difference in body size. And that’s what determines the weight of your attacks.
Kotoko: ……Futa’s not entirely wrong there In a lot of martial arts, they specifically split up divisions based on body weight for that reason. I’m bantam, and he’d probably be either cruiser or heavy.
“UNDER” Obscene “002 Slut”
Now, as much as the phrases "Obscene Slut" and "Your entire existence is a crime" is Loaded. Let's pretend, for a second, that this doesn't necessarily mean that Kotoko, to some extent, believes that mentally ill people are evil/wrong and that women are weaker than men.
For a moment, let us pretend that Kotoko didn't just tell us and go into the finer details of how she views strong and weak.
Cause, there is a bit of consistent framing Kotoko uses when she's talking about "the enemy." Those who contribute something meaningful to society (in her eyes) are ones who "contribute" something meaningful to society mainly through the usage of direct action, physical strength, and physical/mental durability.
T1Q4: When did you start learning martial arts?
A: In elementary school, perhaps. Without enough power, you can't enforce justice and do the right thing, can you?
Kotoko: Es, look. Someone who committed a crime can only realise its severity through losing something. I've seen many criminals, but none of them would give way without pain.
Kotoko: Weak... You're too weak. With that fragile body of yours, you can't stop anyone. You can't protect anyone. You can't even do your justice. All imperfect.
Kotoko: You have no power, and yet you make no effort to gain it! You're talking about justice, but it just doesn't make sense! You're invested in people's disasters, yet you take a position of "I have nothing to do with it"! You can't even face your true selves!
Es: Whatever you say.
Kotoko: If you brag about hating evil, act against it! Carry on the belief that your actions can change this world! If you only brag about it from afar, the world will just continue to rot no matter how many of you are there! If you don't have strength on your own, let me take care of it, Es! I can do it in MILGRAM!
T1Q: What is your ideal image of a hero?
A: An ally of the weak. Someone who helps the weak and crushes the strong.
T2Q14: Don’t you feel a sense of isolation in your current situation?
A: It feels like nothings changed. If the world gets even a little better just by me undertaking this isolation, then that is the role the strong play.
Those who cannot do that and are "unable to contribute" or somehow disrupt the stable world, thus causing it's normalcy to "fade away" are parasites.
“UNDER” Doltish “001 Parasite”
Obscene
“UNDER” Obscene “002 Slut”
An existence that is disruptive to the world at large.
Kotoko: Your entire existence is a crime. And I will see you’re punished for it.
Who are Weak due to a issue in there mental state and need to be warned against the consequences of "turning to evil."
T2Q16: Do you think there are the ‘weak’ among the other prisoners?
A: I’m sure there’s a lot. Those with weak wills will easily turn to evil. The only thing we can do is firmly instil the risk of turning to it.
Or be treated as irrational beasts that need to be firmly put down because nothing else will get through to them.
T2Q11: Is there really no chance to start anew for wrongdoers?
A: No way. Once a beast gets a taste for human flesh, it will always come back for seconds.
Fascism emphasizes direct action, including supporting the legitimacy of political violence, as a core part of its politics.[264] Fascism views violent action as a necessity in politics that fascism identifies as being an "endless struggle";[265] this emphasis on the use of political violence means that most fascist parties have also created their own private militias (e.g. the Nazi Party's Brown shirts and Fascist Italy's Blackshirts). The basis of fascism's support of violent action in politics is connected to social Darwinism.[265] Fascist movements have commonly held social Darwinist views of nations, races and societies.[266] They say that nations and races must purge themselves of socially and biologically weak or degenerate people, while simultaneously promoting the creation of strong people, in order to survive in a world defined by perpetual national and racial conflict.[267]
Social Darwinism is the study and implementation of various pseudoscientific theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics.[1][2] Social Darwinists believe that the strong should see their wealth and power increase, while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease.
"The only thing we can do is firmly instil the risk of turning to it."
Kotoko's ideological view is, at the very best, biased against those of marginalized groups or of "degenerate" thoughts and actions, and at the very worst, actively targets them because she personally believes that they Do Not Contribute to Society.
But we aren't done there yet.
Werewolves
Let's take that pin out now.
Kotoko has gone on record that she views Femininity as:
T1Q10: What do you think about the word 'feminimity'?
A: It's one of the means you can take. It's something you can freely choose depending on the scene, so it's not something to cling onto.
Now, as I have shown. She's kinda sexist. Which throws into question how she perceives herself.
Since, I have just asserted the idea that Kotoko does, at the very least, hold some concerning ideas about Women, and I think most people would notice that this is a bit contradictory when she herself isn't really the feminine ideal as decreed by the patriarchy either.
Now, just to be clear here, no, I do not think women should be baby machines. I am a cat who cannot perceive it properly.
However, if we are going by the strict gender binary and the stereotypes associated with it. Kotoko is pretty masculine. She puts focus on physical strength, she's mentally strong in the face of ills, she doesn't show much emotion, so on.
However, as Utena and also The World has proven to us. Just because you present or act in "non-traditional manners" doesn't mean You've Deconstructed the Gender Binary and the Patriarchal View of the World we Learn from the Society around us.
You can be the butchest girl the prison can handle and still hold traditional gender roles.
And the way Kotoko interacts with the world indicates that she still Holds these ideas, even if she has deconstructed them a bit, and since we are talking about her ideology...
Fascist Italy promoted what it considered normal sexual behaviour in youth while denouncing what it considered deviant sexual behaviour.[271] It condemned pornography, most forms of birth control and contraceptive devices (with the exception of the condom), homosexuality and prostitution as deviant sexual behaviour,
Sexual anxiety—as the “Other” embraces non-traditional approaches to sexuality,
But, going further into the way she views masculinity specifically...
"Machismo", which sublimates the difficult work of permanent war and heroism into the sexual sphere. Fascists thus hold "both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality".
Machismo, Exaggerated pride in masculinity, perceived as power, often coupled with a minimal sense of responsibility and disregard of consequences. In machismo there is supreme valuation of characteristics culturally associated with the masculine and a denigration of characteristics associated with the feminine.
Futa: Isn’t that obvious? What a stupid question. There’s no way a girl could win in a fight against a man. This is real life, not a manga. There’s too big a difference in body size. And that’s what determines the weight of your attacks.
Kotoko: ……Futa’s not entirely wrong there
"Without enough power, you can't enforce justice" is what she said, isn't it?
Road to Hell
Okay, there was 700 more things I wanted to talk about but because I haven't even gotten into:
Through all of that, there would be one great leader who would battle the representatives of the old system with grassroots support.[1][2] In the fascist utopia, one mass of people will supposedly appear who have only one goal: to create their new future.[1][2] Such a fascist movement would ideally have infinite faith in its mythical hero who would stand for everything the movement believes in.[1][2] According to this utopian ideology, under the guidance of their leader the country would then rise like a phoenix from the ashes of corruption and decadence.[1][2]
Or her ideals of heroism or her view of violence in detail or-
But I think I can leave that to the people reading this. This post is getting really long and I'm trying to still keep it structured. I know all my links are Wikipedia and one Britannica. I had the energy to transcribe my dad's books on this I would.
However, we also do need to ask, where does this leave us?
Y'know, since Kotoko is the Audience Parallel and Milgram is a Social Commentary Webseries.
Well, Kotoko is a character in fiction, and fiction is the safest place to explore this. Kotoko Yuzuriha is a familiar character in the sense that a lot of people are like her actually.
Gunsli has brought up the idea that Kotoko was radicalized by news, and I personally think All the characters in Milgram have underlying right wing ideas and violent views on the world. It's not something...unique to them even. We call them conservative and traditional because to a lot of people it's "just the way the world works." Kotoko’s not special or unique for believing in these things.
She’s asserted multiple times that she’s had a “normal life” and whether or not you doubt the validity of that statement. There is nothing inherent about Kotoko that makes her more susceptible to this.
And I think those are themes that are worth exploring.
Okay someone stop me if yall know this already but. i did see someone wondering about it (in relation to another, cooler theory). Those still images in Undercover
these. ive seen people trying to match the stills to each prisoner (i believe ive seen several folks attribute this one to haruka)
i haven't quite cracked the code on it but i found something while rewatching undercover in 1080p60 as one does
see this?
reflected in the quick shots of the prisoners is part of the still image (with haruka here it is the same as what i have copied up above, seeming to confirm that this still belongs to him)
this is going to get long due to the images but let's try and spot the matches
Yuno's is also fairly evident already- it's this shot of a girl on a balcony
fuuta's is a little harder, but between existing speculation and what i'm pretty sure are hands in this image im going to call it this still
muu's also seems clear- pretty sure those are desks in the reflection and only one still has multiple desks
shidou's is hard because this bastard (affectionate) has his reflection all on the white background but i think i see some kind of pen or scalpel (something with a long and narrow handle) and that seems to match
...this one. which is also the most terrifying one so far, thanks shidou i hate it.
never mind shidou being hard to determine my sweet daughter mahiru is completely incomprehensible (which is also how i feel about her normally). the only thing i think i see is a somewhat spiky shadow in the corner. she's maybe this one?
but i'll be real I just picked it because of the folded hands seeming like a Mahiru Thing (and as you'll see, process of elimination)
kazui is also hiding from us but i can see a color pattern in the reflection which makes me think
see? same dark bluish-purple on top and orange shade on the bottom.
amane's is hard because she is so tiny and her reflection is sized accordingly but i do think that's a hand at least which should help
that looks like a hand curled in approximately the same manner
that just leaves kotoko and mikoto which. i'll be real. theyre pretty obvious bc of their haircuts but i'll include them anyway.
wow i wonder who this is surely not the office worker with fluffy hair
also yikes mikoto is overworked someone save that boy (not you orekoto i love you but its not working)
again, the sharp bob(?) makes it pretty obvious. also pretty. kotoko i want your style
if you stayed here this long conga rats. also give amane and shidou hugs for their terrifying still images
