Berserk! A Game of Thrones manga style.

"Oh dark act, violation, murder! Abyss, give birth to the unredeemed. Who is our redeemer? Who our leader? Where are the ways through black wastes? God, do not abandon us! What are you summoning, God? Raise your hand up to the darkness above you, pray, despair, wring your hands, kneel, press your forehead into the dust, cry out, but do not name Him, do not look at Him. " C.G. Jung, The Red Book

At the moment of the eclipse, the God Hand rises. Despair humans!

Summary: Still ongoing after two decades, the manga epic Berserk, by Kentarou Miura, continues to be relevant to this day with popularity in both Japan and across the world. Set in a medieval fantasy universe, the manga resonates with various mythological sources including elements of Greek tragedy, Jungian imagery, Lovecraftian horror, and Robert Howard's Conan the Barbarian, plus a bit of Michael Moorcock's doomed eternal champion.

Recently, a new movie trilogy renewed interest though with some mixed reviews due to its heavy use of CGI and massive editing from the expansive source material; personally, I thought the movies worked pretty well to get the main themes across even though a lot will be confusing to newcomers.  Warning: this manga (and anime) is not for the squeamish or those with a low tolerance for gore and nudity. A literal film adaptation of the manga would be NC-17, at least.

In manga, there is nothing new about the cursed swordsman who wanders the land seeking revenge or redemption, especially since figures such as Ogami Itto set forth on his path to hell many years ago. Berserk can be considered the ultimate distillation of the rage-fueled search for vengeance in an unjust cosmos as the Black Swordsman, Guts, travels a world that seems to be out to get him.

Guts

His origin story is suitably mythic in scope. Born from a hanging corpse, Guts is given a singular curse: the unquenchable will to live. This does not bring him any happiness as he is adopted by a mercenary leader and his mistress who soon falls to the plague. Thereafter, Guts is branded as a bad omen, treated cruelly by his adoptive mercenary father who trains him for front line combat from the age of six. Knowing only the horrors of battle, Guts sets forth into a brutal medieval landscape, himself brutalized yet somehow keeping his basic humanity intact. The author pulls absolutely no punches in depicting the depravity of such a world, including rape of both genders, wholesale slaughter and unmitigated betrayal that would make George R.R. Martin chuckle.

The manga introduces us to the doomed hero by way of bracketing his backstory with a flash-forward to an even darker time in his evolution. Bitter, hounded by demons, and fueled only by his berserker rage, Guts is a rather unpleasant fellow at first, until you see the broken horror in his one good eye as he tries to keep his sanity together despite everything the cruel world has thrown at him. The author uses a fairy named Puck (yes, the flying and dust sprinkling kind) in order to lighten the oppressive mood with humor. Puck also serves as an impromptu Greek chorus, voice of the author, and pseudo-narrator who occasionally breaks the fourth wall to speak to and for the audience. How you feel about Puck may affect your ultimate enjoyment of this story. Personally, I tolerated the little fool, though he becomes more useful later in the narrative. 

A Prophecy of doom.

We gradually see, from the initial arc, the rationale for Guts cynicism and his attempts to avoid other people: it's just not good for anyone's health. Branded with a cursed rune on his neck, Guts has been fated to die, as payment for a sacrifice he didn't volunteer to be but ended up holding the receipt for anyways. The universe of Berserk is run by higher powers who resemble the unredeemable horrors of Lovecraft, yet the tale is not wholly nihilistic.

One of the major arcs, "Lost Children", sets the authors moral tone for the epic: our own human failings lay the seeds of our destruction, not the elder gods themselves. Miura is clearly aware of the true nature of the classic fairy tale: dark warnings to children not to stray else they meet a gruesome fate.

Similarly, a long segment involving an Inquisition seems, at first, to be another criticism of popular religious faith, but it's a deeper testament to the failings and hypocrisy of human desire. The pagans who are pilloried are just as depraved and evil as the brutal Inquisitors who put them to the rack. All become sacrifices to a self-serving witless soul who throws them all into the Void for someone else's ends. This recurring theme forms the basis of Miura's scathing, yet somehow compassionate, critique of the human problem: how sad we are, how weak, how cowardly as we throw ourselves to a fate of our own, ultimate, choosing--idolizing gods, heroes, saviors, and demons to save us from ourselves as we willingly sacrifice others in their name.

Just another day of hopeless odds for Guts.

Guts, despite all odds, represents a human who desires to stand on his own two feet. His road is the hardest of them all but perhaps the only one that doesn't require trampling on a mountain of skulls (well, maybe just a hill instead). As a berserker warrior, Guts is constantly challenged by the loss of his humanity, eventually made literal in the form of magical armor that allows him to face the bigger foes. Much like Elric's accursed demon sword, Stormbringer, Gut's fate seems tied to yet another bad trade: save humanity or save oneself.


The art is suitably graphic with spreads that are splashed with black ink and meticulous detail. Some of the more epic scenes are jaw-droppingly rendered with a panoply of grandiose imagery straight out of Hieronymous Bosch (who is given his due in an overt way in at least one panel). Every time you think the author has topped himself, some other sequence of both majesty and horror unveils itself. However, in the later arcs, this routine does fatigue after a bit and the story begins to meander with elements of humor and lighter fantasy that seem to dilute the earlier, grimmer, tone of the narrative; however, I find this to be a relief since 37 volumes of unmitigated gloom would be rather unpleasant to wade through.

In any case, this post will not discuss the major plot points or the character arcs, as I leave that delight up to you, the reader, if you so choose to discover the dark adventure that is Berserk. Published in the US by Dark Horse Comics.

Shout out to Hieronymous Bosch

Genshiken: Love and Delusions, This Relationship is a Lie (Mostly)!

ATTENTION (SPOILERS AHEAD!): This post assumes the reader is familiar with the manga called Genshiken and Genshiken Nidaime by Shimoku Kio and published in the US by Kodansha. If you don't want to be spoiled for any part of the series, do not continue reading! For those interested in finding out more about this excellent seinen manga about college "otaku" life, go here. All images are property of their original rights holders and are used here for editorial purposes only.

(My promised Hyouka essay is on hold until I get around to rewatching the series. I want it fresh in my mind before launching into a long diatribe.)

Introduction

After getting hooked on the anime version of Genshiken, I went out and got the Kodansha omnibus editions of the manga in order to delve deeper into the story and characters. The original manga is both richer and subtler than the television series, not unexpectedly. For the most part, the essential story is the same, but it's the subtle nuggets which stand out and raise more questions. What I really admire from the style of writing that this story exhibits is something I call " illusive transparency" though there may be much better words to describe this concept--such as neorealism. I'm not going to take the time to research a better term so I will just leave it as neorealism for the most part.

Essentially, the author presents the characters and events in a way that seems simple and obvious, but upon closer review hint at other interesting meanings if you are willing to pay attention to them. Shimoku Kio is no slouch in this department, weaving a story of characters over a long time period that allows them to grow in interesting ways that end up in some surprising places.

Kousaka and Kasukabe...awww!

The primary example of this is the relationship of the longest running couple in the series, that of Kasukabe and Kousaka. On the surface, they are like some kind of magazine couple, perfectly matched in appearance, tons of PDA and and numerous (sometimes verbally graphic) hints of a mature adult relationship behind the scenes. Imagine in your head, the music from a DeBeer's commercial as a happy pair of lovers frolick, hand in hand with petals falling through the air, tralala. Well, this is complete and utter bullshit, and I will tell you why in this posting.

Now, on other forums, quite a few people are quite satisfied with these two and think their relationship is hunky-dory except for a few "little bumps in the road." Ya...right. As I will explain below, if you believe there is nothing to see here but a few bumps, you should have been working with the original Iraqi Information Minister.

Tanaka and Ohno
(College sweethearts in bloom.)

Let me begin by briefly describing the other two major relationships in the manga, that of Ogiue+Sasahara and Ohno+Tanaka. Ohno and Tanaka, over the course of the manga, develop an organic relationship; due to their shared interests in cosplay they form a bond and quickly establish a long term relationship. They also have some bumps in the road, primarily with Ohno's insecurities which Tanaka eventually addresses. Importantly, we see into their inner thoughts and feelings as the events unfold. They argue at times and there appears to be some give and take. They are both shy otaku who develop a deep, human and relatable bond that feels real-- not superficial. I can relate as I've seen this happen in real life.

Ogiue and Sasahara begin with a very rocky start that required a lot of encouragement from their Genshiken friends. Both of them have serious self-worth issues that impede their growth at first, but together, they overcome their flaws and bloom into probably the most thoroughly examined couple of all in the original manga series. We see the back story of Ogiue that turned her into a nearly suicidal self-(and otaku)-hating bundle of anger and angst. Sasahara has extreme low self-esteem, especially when he goes out on job interviews sabotaging his own prospects with his constant self-deprecation (in fact, this is one case where the anime delves deeper into his futile job search as he tries to find his place in society).

Sasahara & Ogiue
(Hard core BL homo-erotic material  in hand.)

More importantly, we also see into their inner thoughts as they try to work out their issues. Right off the bat they have to overcome what might be a deal breaker for insecure males (she draws x-rated homosexual fantasies that include Sasahara as a "top"; for us Westerners, I guess that's the "pitcher" in a gay couple), but they negotiate through the problems with some sweet moments of mutual love and respect that continues all the way through the series and into the sequel manga, Genshiken Nidaime.

In contrast, the aforementioned "model" couple is almost the polar opposite (with some notable exceptions) if you look beyond the surface.

Now that doesn't mean it's not a real relationship and that doesn't mean there isn't love that can last for a long time. For whatever reason, they are still together after at least half a decade of being a package. However, the author shows us almost nothing about the inner workings of Kousaka who rarely, if ever, really seems to care about significant issues in their relationship. He doesn't seem to grow or change nor does he compromise, in fact their relationship is basically a running joke throughout the series that sets up a series of gags that usually involves his girlfriend getting upset, angry, humiliated, disappointed or frustrated in one form or another.

The Road to Delusion

Let's break it down one step at a time at how absurd their so-called relationship

You got a long haul in front of ya, babe.

is...

When Kasukabe Saki is first introduced, we see her as the Genshiken crew see her, a bitchy and unapproachable "normal" who represents the society that despises otaku. Yet, she's going out with an otaku, the one thing she hates the most. Right off the bat, this is not a good start for a healthy relationship.

People with different religious backgrounds get married all the time, but let's imagine a redneck Christian racist marrying an atheist liberal Jew. I'm sure it happens, but it's probably not advisable. There's the little problem that the person you are marrying despises the very essence that makes "you" you and constantly tries to make you convert into something else. Ya, that's what is going on here right off the bat. Rocky start, but for sake of the story, let's let it go. She does grow and change, eventually learning to accept the otaku way, to a certain extent. Her personal growth, from a selfish, controlling, and abusive otaku hater at the beginning into someone who is much more endearing, understanding and genuinely sweet toward the end of the story is one of  great character arcs in this and any story. The problem is the other half: Kousaka.

You got to give it to Kousaka though, he's the kind of guy most of us selfish bastards aspire to be: a guy who pretty much lives as he wants and the hot babes throw themselves at him and try to change him, but he is just do bad-ass and without give-a-fuck that she just has to tow the line. In an early first date we see them together, she's wonders if he's really clueless or what as they chat over a meal and drinks out in the city. In a mostly one-sided conversation she convinces herself he can't be totally clueless and that the date will lead to a hot night together...nope, in the first of a parade of such let downs, he had planned the date so he could go shopping for otaku goodies in the adjacent district of Akihabara afterwards, so she has to go home alone. Ouch!!

Ditched in the city. Alone.
Kind of like abandoning your GF in Century City
 when both of you live and go to school in Pasadena or...(worse) the Inland Empire.
(Oh shit...I kind of did something like that once...not my finest hour. Ugh.)

Even the other otaku in Genshiken think he is weird. While he is playing games with them at his place, he invites her over, not giving a crap that this will make everyone uncomfortable.

Be careful what you ask for...

Is this guy even human? Is he an otaku robot sent from a far away galaxy? Look at how the "love" part of their relationship begins: as a gag. Kasukabe can't decide how to get him to kiss her for the first time, so Madarame just says for him to do it...and he does right in front of everyone.

By the way, this begins a series of exchanges between Madarame and Kasukabe that exemplify a comedic trope: opposites that end up becoming somewhat attracted (at least on one side, if not both). Madarame considers her to be an interloper that he harasses with examples of otaku perversion, even going so far as to buy and plant S&M dvd's (stuff he doesn't even care about) intended to shock her and hopefully drive her away. On her end, she considers him to be a pure example of an otaku creeper and sexually emasculated geek, so she goes out of her way to make him uncomfortable, even to the point of exaggerating her sexual escapades which I will illustrate a little later.

Fooling around? Surely not with
clueless Otaku boy next to her.

Kasukabe spends most of her time, at first, trying to wrest Kousaka from the Genshiken, or barring that, helping in its demise in various ways that range from discouraging new members, being obnoxious at meetings and generally being a pest. Yet, a turn of events causes her to suddenly join the Genshiken as a full member. It appears the original president of the Genshiken, a creepy post-graduate dude who pops in and out unexpectedly, seems to have "dirt" on various people on campus, perhaps via spy cameras or other malicious means. She has a secret that she wants hidden from the world, so she suddenly joins. But what can this secret be? We are never told, as far as I know. We, and the rest of the Genshiken crew (dirty minded bastards), assume that it's something sexual, like she banged Kousaka in the club room or put on an x-rated cosplay show for him.

Can it be that simple? The rest of the time Kasukabe is a lot like that blonde chick from American Beauty, playing up her superior experience and knowledge when it comes to relationships and sex. Wouldn't she *want* rumors of a hot sex life being spread? She is certainly happy to spread her own innuendos herself on more than one occasion.

So, if it's not sex, then what could it be? Hmmm.......

Sadomasochism

Whatever it is, in the next scenario, we find out that Kasukabe is a liar and a masochist. At the very least, she is somewhat duplicitous. Being in a relationship with a clueless otaku is a form of torture for a horny young lass who isn't being treated right by her man. It's amazing she kept any sanity at all, so we can be generous and say that she begins her long fall into delusion at a particular moment in time.

It unfolds in chapter 10, titled Sadomasochism (natch), as Kasukabe sits bored, watching her otaku boyfriend play another round of video games. Suddenly, Mr. Clueless finally seems to come around, he comforts her with a nice big hug. Things may finally turn around! Break out the condoms!

Screw getting to second base:
 it's time for anime! Do not disturb.

12:25 abouts, eh?

Whoops! It's time for Kousaka to watch tv. He has to catch the next episode of a popular anime series. So he pops on a pair of headphones and proceeds to completely ignore his S.O. as she weeps in despair. Note the time on the clock in the attached image and the fact that they are both totally dressed. He didn't even cop a feel under her shirt, the idiot.

Thirty minutes? Like, is she even
trying to make a believable story?

In the very next scene, Kasukabe is back at Genshiken headquarters hanging out with the crew (minus Kousaka). In the middle of the meeting, she brings up an elaborate story about a "friend" who needs advice about her otaku boyfriend. She proceeds to tell a very ribald story about how this "friend" was having hot sex with her boyfriend around "12:30 yesterday" when he suddenly bends her over and starts plugging said chick from behind so she can't see the TV for 30 solid minutes. The Genshiken guys immediately start palpitating and imagining her--oops, the "friend"--being shagged Brazzers style for half and hour. Only Ohno seems a bit suspicious of this story.


We can pretty much assume that this story is complete horse-puckey, because we know from the immediate scene before that there was no hide the salami going on at all around that time. Not even heavy petting, my friends. Not even second base action. In fact, the ballpark was shut down and lights turned off.

So, why the hell is she making up this elaborate hoax? Supposedly, it's to find out what anime show Kousaka--I mean, the other otaku boyfriend who doesn't exist--was watching. But she already knew Kousaka was watching an anime at 12:30, why does she need to make up a bullshit story to ask that of the Genshiken crew?

The only thing that makes any sense is that it's part of a pattern she continues all the way to end of the original Genshiken manga: she wants to tease the otaku-boys (put guys like Madarame in his place) and maintain a delusion that she is in a successful, romantic relationship...when in reality, she is not.

[On a side note, Kasukabe tries to play a video game with Kousaka in order to get closer to him on his level, but he has no concept of the "handicap" and proceeds to destroy her utterly. At the end of that chapter, she is defeated and a text box narration claims she never plays video games again. Much later, either the author made an error or this was just hyperbole or Kasukabe lies yet again when she tells Madarame that she and Kousaka played a nice little game together.]

Kasukabe's disappointment over this relationship bubbles up several times. Much later in the manga, a woman she considers a rival announces that she is getting married. Kasukabe is clearly peeved by this and remarks at her feeling of failure, while staring at Kousaka who remains clueless as ever. "What do you mean?," he asks, oblivious. She only replies, "Forget it." The obvious implication is that she is disappointed after several years of dating that he hasn't asked for marriage, but I think it goes deeper than that...

The One, Two, Three Finish Line of Madness

Finally, after years of this absurdity, the situation achieves a climax. A moment where in the real world, most sane women would have thrown in the towel.

Kousaka gets a job at a porn game company.

Look...I don't think there is anything wrong in working for a porn company, but oblivious or not, he must know that Kasukabe is uncomfortable and insecure about his porn collection, so that actually working for such a company would at least be a bit troublesome for her. No, he simply doesn't give a shit about her feelings, probably because by this time he knows she'll just cave like a deck of cards. At the very least, it shows a deep lack of respect for your partner.

Let's break down how awful this moment is for Kasukabe. The entire sequence begins with a nightmare Kasukabe has. She dreams that Kousaka admits to preferring 2D girls to her. So, basically, this issue of porn has been gnawing at her psyche long enough that she has lost all touch on reality, because she can't decide if this conversation really happened or not. Even if the story were to stop here, this is not a good sign of a happy relationship. Look, most men like porn, it's a given, and some women share in that, some tolerate it and some reject it outright. Either way, we all know that porn can be a bone of contention.

Hence, at this point, Kousaka should be well aware that it's an issue for her, if he cares at all. But apparently, he simply does not give a flying fuck.

Let's imagine yourself in this scenario, the person you supposedly love has been nagging you about your porn collection, she tells you that she had a nightmare about you preferring porn to having her--a deep sign of insecurity. Instead of comforting her, you immediately go out and get a job at a PORN COMPANY. WTF??? Ya, prince charming there.

And it doesn't stop there, he makes a major life changing announcement: that he needs to dedicate most of his time to the game company, including having to sleep at the office. He announces this to everyone without even consulting his GF in private first (note her Scream death skull appearance below).

So? You gonna eject right?
Nope, I'm gonna go all in. Screw sanity!

Ohno finally just says the obvious, "I don't know why you don't just break it off with him."

Yes! Finally, someone with some common sense speaks up the truth. Break it off, you are just humiliating yourself now.

But how does she react?  She resorts to the same delusional outburst she has before, she announces she is going to take Kousaka to a love hotel to fuck like bunnies. Somehow, I give little credence to this declaration. I have serious doubts there has been much, if any, penis entering any vagina within a nautical mile of this couple except maybe actual small rodents under the floorboards.

Falling...Falling...

As poor Kasukabe falls further into the otaku world, someone else has gradually been falling...for her. She mellows out, somewhat, and flashes of her nicer/cuter side begin to appear at times. Finally, in one moment, Madarame who began the manga as her direct nemesis discovers that he has become smitten with her: he notices a loose nose hair hanging from her nostril. This slight flaw opens up his eyes to the fact that she isn't some perfect, baneful broad from planet Normal, but someone who can be cute, someone who can be helped, held and loved. The poor sucker has fallen into his own delusion of love from which he can't seem to escape.

From his sad, hopeless journey, we see how he contrasts as a human being to the alien Kousaka. Madarame actually tries to change himself, something Kousaka never appears to do, as far as we are shown. At Kasukabe's suggestion, he tries to shop for better clothes and looks for a work in order to better himself in society. Both of them grow to accept each other as people, not as stereotypes. She begins to treat him better, although still at arms length. One night, they even go out for a sushi dinner where they have one of their most illuminating interactions.

Kasukabe Saki...wake up.
Here's a guy who is really thinking about you. 

In this short moment of time, Kasukabe has more chemistry, more of a natural human interaction and conversation with Madarame than just about any scene with Kousaka. I'm talking about the everyday things people do when not making out, going on a date or meaningless chatter about something or other, but two people engaged in a real conversation over a meal. Kasukabe is pretty stubborn and aware about appearances though, she makes sure that Madarame keeps his distance afterwards when she brusquely refuses the open seat on a train he offers her. He can only sit awkwardly and stare into the distance.

The Other Side of Possibility

As the manga makes its turn toward its conclusion, the tragedy of missed chances unfolds. It's inevitable because Madarame is and always will be a "bottom"--the passive male. He will never really take the initiative and he never really does (not even in the sequel so far, Nidaime, where he is cornered into just barely making the weakest of confessions).

Before the inevitable conclusion, there are a couple more illuminating moments that the cements the tragedy of this situation. One is when the Genshiken crew go to a private hot springs retreat. When they arrive at the nicely appointed lodge, we see a snapshot of the sad milieu. Kousaka, exhausted from his long hours of programming for the porn game company, lies asleep on the floor, oblivious. Kasukabe looks down sadly at another missed opportunity while Madarame observes and feels sorry for her. 

The next moment is near the climactic scene for the final few chapters of Genshiken. It's New Years and the crew go out as a group to a famous temple near midnight. It's a wonderful chapter called Never Ending Earthly Desires and exemplifies the neorealist style. We are not told the inner workings of Madarame's mind in this sequence, but we observe his comments and actions with awareness and melancholy.

It's crowded and Kasukabe suggests splitting up in order to get to the temple quicker. Madarame mutters his disappointment under his breath as he is left behind. The two groups remain apart for quite a while due to the massive crowds and confusing environs. Each group ends up at different restaurants or bars. Eventually, Madarame says he's going out for a moment to get something. We all know the real reason he's going out--to look for Kasukabe's group. In that vast throng of humanity at the cusp of a new year of possibility, Madarame is alone, searching. Hopelessly, searching. And in a flash, she's there in right in front of him.

Kasukabe...he's here to catch you. Can't you see?

She is nearly passing out drunk and he arrives just in time to catch her. In that moment, he sees her defenseless face, utterly sweet like a sleeping babe. A face without the mask.

She quickly regains her composure and automatically gives an authentic thank you to him before the mask falls down again. She was looking for the restroom and when she notices him waiting, she is thankful at first but then remarks on how "gross" it is. He haplessly deflects it by telling her he needed to know where the second group was drinking. The distance grows again.

A gap of a million miles, or
just one simple turn to a different future. (cry)

This chapter soon leads to the climactic Confession chapter, or what I call, the non-confession. Madarame doesn't really do squat here except make it easy for nothing to happen. In a way, the non-confession is similar to Sasahara's early job interviews. Once again, in a rare exception, the anime version has a wonderful scene where Sasahara is dressed down by an interviewer for his attitude, basically saying, "Do you think anyone will want to work with someone like that?". Madarame needs to be sat down by the same guy, because if you make it easy for the girl to turn you down, she will turn you down.

If you go to pitch your case saying, or in Madarame's case implying with his demeanor, well, uh, I know you're going to turn me down already, I don't have a chance, I'm just wasting our time here, and when you do turn me down I'll be ok, heheheh.I wasn't really going to ask either. Nothing to see here folks, nothing to see. Oh, I didn't actually say anything? Great! I was thinking about something else entirely, hehe. 

Why even show up?

So, nothing happens and the manga winds down to its end.

Coda: Love and Delusions

After the end, the author goes meta and gets dangerously close to breaking the fourth wall. In a bonus chapter, the crew are having a drunken dinner party. A fairly soused Madarame suggests comparing the girls there with anime stereotypes, specifically if a certain person could be described as "moe" -- please look up moe on the internet if you don't understand the concept already. 

Via this conversation, Madarame uses it as an excuse to indirectly bring up the question I had harboured the whole time. They agree that the girls of Genshiken can't really be manga/anime characters because they are in relationships which takes them out of the running as objects of fantasy desire. Madarame drops the bomb, "But it would work if you were still a virgin!"

Holy crap! He puts it out there...and she PUNTS. She plays DUMB! She doesn't deny it or affirm.
Shimoku Kio, you bastard! (sorry about the scan quality)

Tanaka takes this and runs with it, "Yes, if someone who has a boyfriend and is a know it all but is actually still a virgin..." OMG~!~!~!~

But she plays dumb and doesn't react directly. If she was a virgin, she'd get red and break out some story to deflect the issue as she's done before; if she wasn't a virgin, she'd just blow off the disgusting otaku by smashing him on the head--he's reflexively awaiting her classic punch--instead she does neither, leaving us hanging once again!

So, the person who the whole time has been working hard on making sure she isn't a virgin, thus someone who shouldn't have any pretension of moe at all, meekishly turns to Kousaka and asks if he saw any such moe in her when he fell in love.

He slams the door shut:

Buuurn. You've been pollinated, flower-byatch.
I guess that's that.

So what does all this mean? Is she or isn't she? Kousaka isn't one to lie (whatever he is, he plays it straight all the way), so it suggests he is affirming that she isn't a virgin. But why did she play dumb then? She's been going on and on about how Kousaka and herself have been red hot lovers in the sack the whole time. What gives?

Of course, in real life, whether someone is moe has nothing to do with love, as Kousaka himself states in the very next panel. She still hangs her head in shame. Whether she is a virgin or not, in her heart of hearts like many women, she does want to be seen as the virginal maid on a pedestal. A pure flower.

But, we can nod our heads and solemnly go, yes, realistically, after all this time, she can't be a virgin. That's just a fantasy that may happen in comic books or video games. And that's that.

But guess what? These people are just characters in a frikkin' comic book...

P.S. My ultimate conclusion, at this moment, is that the author seems to want Kousake and Kasukabe to be together for whatever reason. It doesn't make rational sense. She is the child hood character trope, she is irrationally in love a person who treats her poorly all the way to the end. She is like those female characters who fall for the generic hero main character and dedicate their lives to them for no other reason than plot convenience. In fact, compared to the other two couples, theirs is the most absurd, most comic bookishly extreme and stereotypical. 

Another interpretation that came to me is that Madarame didn't want to fall for Kasukabe. If this version ever comes about in the manga someday, it would blow my mind:  He felt sorry for her plight, he fell for her damsel in distress vibes during her struggles with a rocky relationship. He fell for her loneliness and despair. She doesn't realize that she's the one who needed him all along, or someone like him. Maybe, in the end, it will be a relief for Madarame because he won't have to worry about her anymore...

Metaphor and Mythology

Before I begin a series of long essays about the shows and ideas that have intrigued me recently, I will take the time to lay out the groundwork for my rationale for the upcoming blog entries. Most importantly, I don't intend these to be formal essays or critiques with hard ground rules that I will adhere to with rigid formalism. I'll be honest: I'm too damn lazy to do all that.

However, I think it will be helpful for any potential readers, if any exist at all at this point, to explain that I do have some preferences, or predilections if you will, for certain lines of thought and hyperbole. So please bear with me, if you can.

My next essay will be about an anime series called "Hyouka" which finished airing not too long ago. This show interested me with its depth and multiple layers of meaning, although it wasn't necessarily the most entertaining show of recent memory. On the surface, the show is about some students solving a series of extremely banal mysteries with a light hearted atmosphere of mild humor and a taste of romance. Underneath, lies what seems to be a dark maw of incredible cynicism that is seems to be in direct opposition to that surface of youthful slice-of-life optimism.

My essay will not be a regular review of the program itself. In fact, it will be helpful for the reader to have actually seen the show already and wishes to engage in further discussion about it. There will be substantial spoilers, for example.

In order to understand where I will be coming from, I will be discussing the show as in informal deconstruction based on my own personal assumptions, hence it will be heavily colored with my own biases. It's pretty much impossible otherwise, since I am not a native Japanese speaker and will rely on subtitled translations to discuss the spoken content of the show. I have been watching Japanese anime and cinema for many years, as well as some layman's familiarity with their culture, but I have no formal  or complete education in their history or linguistics. In other words, a native Japanese may have a wildly different interpretation of my analysis or notice important details that I am likely to have missed or misunderstood.

Another thing to understand is that I like to use a layman's form of metaphorical analysis that is based on Joseph Campbell's theories on mythology and Jungian dream symbology. His depiction of the monomyth was made famous by the popularization of his book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", when George Lucas referenced it as a source for his Star Wars movie. However, my discussion will not actually focus on the monomyth, but on Campbell's other great work, "Transformations of Myth through Time." Specifically, I like to reference his lecture on the Grail mythos and the search for what he called "an authentic life" in order to escape the "wasteland"  or "inauthentic life"which is based on T.S. Eliot's famous poem.

My essay on "Hyouka" will therefore be in relation to the concept of the human desire for "authenticity" in one's personal life and how it conflicts with the velvet prison of society. I will show how the anime series evokes the imagery of imprisonment and suffocating loss of self in a cruel world while, on the surface, it appears to be a cheerful show about some kids.

On the limits of criticism...

Before I launch into my own analysis and critique, I'd like to take a moment to talk about what I perceive to be the "limits" of criticism. Now, I do not have the hubris to claim that there indeed hard limits to criticism as a conceptual whole. What I am trying to express is that criticism has somewhat natural boundaries that form from its very application, much like a designers loupe does when placed on a graphic to examine details. In other words, one must be aware when examining things closely that one can lose track of the "big picture" while staring closely at the subject at hand.

Another way that the bounds of a critical line of thought can change is from contextual information beyond the scope of the subject itself. A long time ago, I read a scathing review by Harlan Ellison of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (my memory may be faulty, so if I am misattributing this review, please correct me). Part of the reviewers justification for his critique was that he had gotten a piece of insider information from someone who had worked on the film. The insider confirmed that much of the plot surrounding the apes was tacked on after a panicked screening with the producers of the movie, supporting the writer's opinion that the story was a cobbled together mess fixed with an emergency band-aid of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo Kubrick pulled out of his ass.

Later on, I've read many other articles about the production, much more positive ones, that somewhat jive with the concept that the movie was a continual work in progress, even to the point of being re-edited after its initial premiere. This extraneous information can obviously color ones analysis of a movie, despite the fact the vast majority of a film's audience will probably never be aware of these things. Is it fair to critique a movie based on elements outside of the experience itself? Is it fair to judge a painting, because it was known the artist was having a mental breakdown at the time, for example?

I actually have mixed feelings about this. Harlan Ellison himself is famous for writing on the fly, joining in challenges to take a basic idea and whip out a short story while sitting at a coffee shop. I won't pretend to know his internal process for creating a story, but I wonder just how it forms inside his skull. Should knowing the mechanical details of how the process of editing and conceptualizing words to paper color our opinion of the story itself? Should we be impressed, or disconcerted, that the story in question was pumped out in a rather short time? In other words, is it really fair to use contextual information beyond the subject itself to judge a work? Because, a lot of people have discussed how directors, especially Kubrick, manage the creative process of a film all the way until it hits final release and sometimes beyond. As long as we (well, some of us at least) are entertained, does it matter that Kubrick was ass farting his way to fame and fortune?

It's a big can of worms to me, because, then you may ask, What is artistic genius anyways?

Here's another example of how extraneous information may influence a critique of a movie, for better or worse. I was entertained, though not blown away, by Chrisopher Nolan's Inception. I thought it was well made, mostly interesting and entertaining. Later, I read discussions and saw youtube videos that illuminated various details of both the movie and how it was made that made the movie pretty fascinating to think about and supplemented my enjoyment of the movie and how I felt about it.

Knowing some of the background became relevant when I got into a discussion with a friend who disliked the movie. When I asked him why, his first answer was that there was an unrealistic element during the inception process that ruined his suspension of disbelief. Fair enough, but I pointed out it may not be a mistake but a deliberate inclusion because (spoilers ahead!) the entire movie is a metaphorical dream, down to the timing of the soundtrack, intended to be a rather elaborate conceit of Christopher Nolan, the real dream architect,trying to incept us, the audience, who are the ones dreaming. If you view the entire movie as a dream, all the inconsistencies start making sense. My friend's next example was that the wife was a flat, one-dimensional character, as well as just about all the supporting characters. My response was, that made perfect sense, because she was always just a figment of the hero's imagination. The other characters have vague backgrounds and inconsistencies exactly because they are just constructs in the heros subconscious.

He then kind of contradicted himself by blurting that he never meant those examples to be "mistakes" even though he started off on that tack, but fair enough, I let that slide (because in many cases, just because something is deliberate doesn't necessarily make it good. For example, I was never a big fan of Dumb and Dumber: "But they're supposed to be stupid!" "Ya, I know, I don't care, the joke was funny for five minutes then I had enough.")

He changed tactics and then said, "Good stories have to have characters I can relate with. Remember that Star Wars Episode 1 review? All about good character development?"

See the video here on youtube.

I can't directly dispute that. If part of your enjoyment of a movie always requires relatable, complex characters, then yes, I can't fault you for not liking it. For myself, I just couldn't relate to any characters in Otomo's Akira hence, despite its cult status and all that, I just never really liked it.

But if you actually watch the video, one of the best and most thorough critical analyses of any movie ever, the narrator even says himself that these rules aren't set in stone. All creative rules are essentially practical rules because the vast majority of the time they do apply and apply well. However, in all creative fields, there have been many exceptions: artists who broke rules all the time. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail. One can say that Nolan did fail, because according to one theory, successful art requires participation of both the artist and the audience. My friend didn't enjoy it and didn't pick up on the conceit, so the art "failed" in that sense.

My ultimate point is that my friend was technically "correct" in his analysis and he is justified for not enjoying the movie for his own reasons. (Here's the big bad "but") BUT, his analysis was not thorough enough, it has been bound by his own preconceptions and expectations, without taking into account the-admittedly rather obtuse-conceit of the creator. In my opinion, to fairly judge a piece of art, one must be willing to move your limits around to meet halfway from where the artist is coming from in order to judge it fairly, not stand by a rigid set of preconceived notions about how stories "should" be told.

There are many exceptional and fascinating movies that break conventions out there. Personally, do I prefer relatable and complex characters? Of course, but sometimes I watch a movie for other reasons. 2001: A Space Odyssey had few, if any, relatable characters. It is a visual poem that made me think about the nature of the universe and my place in such a vast and strange place. The images themselves became a type of "character" speaking to me in a purely esthetic sense that makes that movie hypnotically powerful. A writer, following the "rules" would demand that Heywood Floyd or David Bowman become the hero with maybe a flashback to "flesh" out the characters and make them more "believable." Bullshit.

I had another argument with another friend who was disgusted at Kubrick because he had ordered the actors to behave with minimal emotion. "Real people don't act like that! What was he thinking?"

"Uh, hello? I think he wanted to create a sense of alienation, that humans had become no more than cogs in a technological machine. Now, you can still feel free and think that is a dumb idea, but for myself, it helped build a sense of foreboding and isolation that really made the movie unique and different."

(As an aside, if you watch video or hear audio of real astronauts and pilots, especially from that era, they are highly trained professionals who have been selected to be incredibly stiff-lipped and in cool self-control. They generally don't lose their shit, overreact, become insubordinate, get emotional, obstinate or any laundry list of "normal" human fucking reactions because those types rarely survive their first training accident.)

Another Beginning

After many years of fiddling about and creating my own websites only to have them gather dust from sheer neglect and apathy, I have decided to just go ahead and use one of these free blogging tools in order to "do that social" thing that is so popular these days. Ok, to be even more honest, I'm just too damn cheap and lazy to put some of my anime blatherings on my own personal domains. It's not like the Drupal content management system is all that hard to maintain, but over the years, I have lost the will to even keep up with the basic skills in order to keep a simple CMS based website updated.

So here I am on Blogger with yet another obscure little anime fandom and pop culture related blog. I intend to use it to post thoughts that require more space or associated screencaps/artwork that are not appropriate for a Reddit self-posting. These days, I haunt the halls of /r/anime and other sub-reddits of interest to me. Currently, my first major post will be an analysis of a show that has finished airing a while back, but still intrigued me with all its metaphorical content and subtextual meanings. It's still a work in progress, so I shall return with it, hopefully, before sheer apathy strikes me again and I just can the whole thing.