From the looks of it Kyoto Animation is building their own world using the light novel from Yuki Hiro as basis. (This post has been on my draft after the third episode was aired.)
Yosuke: Helping his boyfriend … together with Kengu (who is not in the frame)
I wonder about the significance of the scenes on the first episode where a young, dare I say still idealistic, Yosuke Mizoe after bravely helping Seiroku to make their point across concerning electricity would just trip on a banana peel and the next thing we knew he was a different person with his Western style clothing even choosing cuts that accentuate his body while harbouring this obsession toward Seiroku and his electricity catalog.
(The name Yosuke means “using the kanji 洋介, where 洋 (yo) means ocean or Western and 介 (suke) means to help or to assist.
Together, these characters suggest a meaning related to helping or supporting in a broad or expansive sense, often interpreted in a positive light. Another combination includes 祐介, where 祐 (yuu) means "to help" or "to assist," and 介 (suke) retains its meaning of "to help." )
[ In the book, Yosuke has allegedly “traveled overseas and proven his business acumen.” (That’s a quote unquote bc spoilers that have been contested in the book…) Another reason of his metamorphosis: from wearing the traditional kimono to western style. ]
Yosuke: Seiroku… So bright Hope in the hands of a banana peel
Are Yosuke’s recollections re: Seiroku just imagined scenarios that he instilled in his brain after the accident? (When Yosuke fell on the floor probably hitting his head the brightness of the light bulbs turned to darkness signifying his loss of consciousness, memory loss and/or hopelessness.)
Seiroku, it is cold, but your exposed chest…
The intimate way Seiroku placed his finger on Yosuke’s lips, then the same finger onto his lips while saying “it is our secret” could be a plausible metaphor for their “secret” relationship due to societal pressures. If this happened for real and not a mere fantasy on Yosuke’s mind then KyoAni might have subverted one of the scenes from the book with a different person. Thus creating their own narrative.
Is overhauling Hiro’s story the anime crew’s mission for the 22nd century?
After all, the Meiji era after opening up to Western countries, there was an influx of Christian beliefs that greatly influenced the Japanese way of viewing homosexuality.
Male-male sexuality has always played an important role in Japanese culture. It never met strong opposition from the government and the country's religious traditions, constituting a fundamental step in the growth path of every Japanese man. Following the Meiji Restoration (1868), the attitude of tolerance towards homosexuality that had characterized Japan underwent an important change. The need to modernize the country to cancel the unequal treaties signed with the European and American powers and avoid colonization pushed the newly formed government to wipe homosexuality out of Japanese history, interpreting it as the shameful legacy of a barbaric past. ( x )
…
During the Meiji period nanshoku started to become discouraged due to the rise of sexology within Japan and the process of westernization. During the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II the Chinese mocked and insulted Puyi and the Japanese as homosexuals and presented it as proof of their perversion and being uncivilized.[2] The only time homosexual sodomy has been banned in Japan was for a short time in 1872–1880 due to western influence. ( x )
Perhaps, KyoAni’s interpretation of “Sparks of Tonorrow” is the subversion of that view that prevailed in the Meiji era. (Yuki Hiro has touched the Christian part in the book even including a character that propagates it.) Of course, this is not proven yet… and I could be 100 per cent wrong, but reading the synopsis for the fifth episode it seems they will cover love among women…
While Inako eagerly cheers on the budding romance between Ainosuke and Suzu, Suzu's best friend, Kate, finds herself struggling with unexpectedly complicated emotions... Can the power of electricity truly reveal what's in a person's heart...?
If it is then I am rooting for Kyoto Animation to go for it!
(Why is Yosuke, a handsome young scion from the Mizoe clan who idolizes Seiroku, so obsessed with the catalogue ...? What is the real reason behind his actions...?)
