Blog Essay 2: Japanese Animation & Me

My personal connection with anime stems from the predominately male influence of my older brothers during childhood. On many occasions the four of us would band together to watch Saturday morning cartoons, which usually consisted of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I fondly reflect upon those mornings, as they were the only time of the week all four of us could be found in the same place at the same time. It is from this emotional connection that my interest in anime began. As developing youths we found more than entertainment in the outlet of Japanese animation, we discovered creative tendencies and an appreciation for another culture. On weekdays we would often look forward to watching Toonami on Cartoon Network. Toonami introduced me to some of my favorite anime including: Sailor Moon, The Big O, Dragon Ball Z, Gundam, Tenchi Muyo, and Transformers: Armada. It was through my increasing appreciation for anime that I was able to develop an interest in Japanese culture.

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Although as I think back I recall that many of these shows, even during my younger days, appeared to be aimed at primarily male viewers, and I consistently recall feeling like an outsider as I watched them.  The sensation of being on the outside looking in also carried over into other interests that mirrored anime, such as video games featuring anime characters and collectable merchandise, which was often advertised as being made solely for male fans.  Nowadays there certainly is more of a balance between the sexes, and many toys and other merchandise are made in a unisex fashion, or at least with options clearly defined for both genders. As a female viewer I often felt I was breaking some sort of social standards by being a fan of certain programs, such as Tenchi Muyo, which depicted a typical teenage male character residing in a small home with several very attractive female’s pining for his affection. I was a young, female viewer and  yet I did not feel overwhelmingly offended by this program, instead I was classically conditioned into accepting that “boys will be boys”, and that it was simply a cartoon and the actions of the characters were solely orchestrated for humor and entertainment. Presently, I feel quite indifferent towards shows such as Tenchi Muyo being shown to young American audiences, as I feel it was highly disrespectful to women and influenced its audience to view women as lesser beings who’s worth lied in their physique

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The only show I can whole-heartedly agree that it purposely pulled me in as a young female viewer was Sailor Moon. The storyline focused on romance, mystery, and friendship which are traits that would appeal to young, brainwashed, Disney-princess wannabe girls. The show echoed an international ideal for female viewers, boosting with cute outfitted, wide-eyed, and energetic teen characters, who as an added bonus were actually aliens with superpowers stemming from heart-shaped scepters and decorative broaches. Also lurking in the shadows was the mysterious love interest of leading lady, Usagi Tsukino (aka Serena Tsukino in the American version), Tuxedo Mask, who added in the elements of teenage romance, and the all of the associated drama that accompanies it.

While I would never say that my interest in anime reached Otaku level, I feel that during a significant part of my adolescents I went through a phase of overzealous nerd-like behavior, which included binge-watching anime series and collecting merchandise, such as stuffed animals and figurines. Similar to many of my peers, I eventually grew out of anime, or to put it kindly, I took a break from anime, and I am only now, in my twenties, beginning to regain an interest in genre, purely for the entertainment value. Otaku-like behavior lies within us all, and in some form or fashion many of us have presented the signs and symptoms of obsessive behavior towards a favored series or set of characters.

As I think back on what initially drew me towards Japanese animation, as compared to contemporary American shows, it would appear that the main concepts of expressiveness and intelligent logic were the key points of the fascination. Unlike the simplicity of most American shows at the time, amine presented a unique sensation brought to the viewer via overly expressive emotions, in nearly every scene the characters appear highly engaged and radiate a presence that demands the attention of the viewers. Certain characteristics also played an important role, such as enlarged eyes, rapidly changing emotions, and often overly exaggerated facial expressions to convey emotional tones.

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Another element that stood out to me was the intelligence of many anime series, as displayed in works such as Ghost in the Shell or Full Metal Alchemist. The plots of these films/shows demonstrates a higher level of intelligence, as represented in their typical quest motivated story-lines  and collaboration between a main character, typically a teenage male, and his companions, which range from animals to robots to fellow humans. These films/shows convey both emotional maturity and cultural representation that is accompanied in most cases by light humor. It is with this thought in mind that I feel anime could be considered a major form of artistic expression. Many of the series revolve around very serious issues, for example an epic battle between aliens and humans, or the end of the world, and what makes them so striking is the reactions of the characters to the events they are being depicted in. The main characters go through the emotions on a very realistic level, some even experiencing depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Within most anime series the collaboration of musical works, hand drawn and computer generated art and animation, and laniary expression produces a completely unique form of entertainment, and one that has grow to be massively appreciated and sought after.

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I feel that my personal connection with anime is a collaboration of multiple influences and interests that occurred to me throughout my childhood and adolescences and that has now developed into a more serious focus as I continue to study anime, and more specifically Japanese culture during my college years. I can only hope that as I continue to move forward I will encounter opportunities that will allow me to travel to various locations in Japan, wherein I would be able to fully appreciate the culture and the influence it has had on me.

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Blog Essay #1

Trigun

Inspiration for the Trigun anime series was drawn from the original manga, which was both written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1996. During an interview with Dark Horse Comics, Nightow expressed a certain sense of fondness towards Trigun’s man protagonist, Vash the Stampede. Nightow reported that he identified on a personal level with the character and even went as far as incorporating his own life experiences into Vash’s character background in order to make the character more relatable to the reader/viewer (Gombos). The series is based on a fictional, old west themed, planet known as Gunsmoke, wherein the population seems to be perpetually stuck in the 1800’s American Frontier. The origin of the planet and it’s human and alien, Plant, inhabitants is uncovered throughout the course of the first season. An added twist it brought about by the time shifts between past, present, and future that allow the viewer to experience the character development on multiple playing fields. The pilot episode takes place in the middle of the Trigun timeline, nearly one hundred years after the origin of the planet’s new inhabitant’s arrival, and at this point Vash has already established a name for himself.

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Trigun’s plot focuses on the epic battle between opposing forces of good and evil as represented by dueling twin brothers Vash and Knives. The series depicts both brothers as very human with respect to their looks, yet they are considered an alien species known as Plants, and as such they are able to live exceeding long lives and possess magical superpowers. The brothers have varying views towards the human race, as Vash continues to embrace their presence and respects them as fellow beings. His brother Knives has developed a harsh hatred of humanity, and thereby seeks out opportunities to destroy every last human on planet Gunsmoke.

The early lives of Knives and Vash were shown during a flashback episode aired towards the middle of the first season. Which the viewer is exposed to during the tragic backstory that lead to the feuding brother’s difficult relationship. As children, the brothers were cared for by a human, Rem Saverem, one of several scientists manning the Project SEEDS spacecraft, whose mission it was to locate a suitable planet on which to rebuild the human race. Following a series of misfortunate events, including the murder of two crewmembers, Mary and Steve, Knives begins to see the humans as an inferior race and wishes to destroy them. Knives tampers with the navigational controls of the spacecraft, causing the ship to take on a crash course, which then forced Rem to evacuate Knives and Vash to safety, while remaining behind in an attempt to rescue as many human passengers as possible and evacuate them to a nearby planet, which would eventually be known as Gunsmoke. The locations of the crashed escape-shuttles would then develop into towns, cities, and villages on the planets surface.

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Following their decent onto the planet a local village captures Vash, causing Knives to lash out and murder the entire community. Upon realizing what his brother had done, Vash attacked Knives, causing Knives to revolt and slice off Vash’s left arm, and in doing so the two brothers went their separate ways. Vash was left to wonder the desert, No-man’s Land, until he discovered some surviving humans and their settlement. The humans help Vash by providing him with a cybernetic arm and allowing him to take up residence in their settlement. As Vash grew into adulthood he ventured to the city of July, wherein the epic July Incident would ensue. As Vash attempted to track down the well-known Dr. William Conrad, who had conducted studies on other Plants to learn about their abilities, he was confronted and captured by Knives, who by this time had grown utterly corrupt and sought to destroy humanity. Knives forced Dr. Conrad to study himself and his brother in order to uncover their hidden powers, known as Angel Arms. During an attempt to activate Vash’s Angel Arm, the entire city of July was destroyed in an almighty blast of energy from the gun-like appendage that sprung out of Vash’s arm. Nearly two hundred thousand casualties resulted and the feud between the brothers hit an all time high.  Unfortunately for Vash, as a result of the July Incident he fell victim to retrograde amnesia, causing him to partially forget his past and therefore have no recollection of what had occurred during the July Incident.         

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Fast forward a few years into the future, and the viewers are introduced to the pilot episode of the series, wherein Vash has earned himself the title of ‘Vash the Stampede’, a notorious western outlaw with a $$60,000,000,000 (double dollar) bounty on his head. His nickname is a result of the colossal damage left behind following numerous capture attempts on Vash, all carried out by various bounty hunters. During the pilot episode, the ‘insurance girls’, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, hunt Vash down, and inform him that he has been classified as a natural disaster and therefore the bounty on his head has been lifted. Following this pleasant news, Vash learns that Meryl and Milly are to become his travel companions, in order to minimize the destruction left in his wake.

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            From the viewer’s perspective the first episode of Trigun is very intent on capturing attention, as represented by the bold colors, the exciting background music, and the overall tone of humor and anticipation. It goes without saying that the targeted audience probably consisted of children and teens, both male and female, within the age bracket of eight to sixteen. My specifications with respect to age are a result of my observation that this series is composed of multiple elements, each drawing in a different type of audience. For instance the bright colors, the humorous looking bounty hunters, and the action/fight scenes will enthrall a younger male viewer. Whereas a female viewer will find interest in the romance between the characters, the emotional and passionate battle depicted between the feuding brothers, Vash and Knives, and the overall tone of discovery and adventure shared by two female sidekicks and one male lead.

            As the main characters are introduced, the viewer notices that Vash is a sly individual with a personality composed of both sarcastic outbursts and childish behaviors along with a down to earth, peace loving overtone that utterly confuses the viewer throughout most of the first episode, as they attempt to decide whether or not he is genuine in character (Gombos). For this reason, I found he was difficult to relate to, aside from Nightow’s attempts at making him a realistic, relatable character, and struggled to identifying him as the hero that he would eventually be unveiled to be. Unlike most anime series, he was not entirely made up of good intentions, he seemed to have a self-righteous sense about him that made him come off as arrogant, and therefore more villain-like. Perhaps this was an intentional trait, as to set him apart from the humans that he and his fellow alien brother, would constantly be encountering and interacting with. In so saying he may not entirely understand how to act properly with respect to social norms as constructed by the human race, one of the many concepts his brother truly struggles with.

            Throughout the first episode the viewer is scarcely introduced to an intelligent ‘human’ character, and it feels implied that Vash is to be treated as the superior being when compared to his human counterparts. This again causes some confusion, as he is the main protagonist of the series, and yet he comes off as being distant and unattainable. Another component of the first episode are the mix-matched attire worn by the characters. Some seem to be dressed in classic, old west garmented with boots, bandanas, and cowboy hats, whereas others are dressed in an almost futuristic fashion that post-dates modern attire, but clashes with the old western themed clothing of other characters. Vash, is notably wearing his red trench coat and hippy-looking glasses. This variation in respect to how the characters are presented to the viewer suggests that this series was created to cater to the needs of multiple generations or age groups.

            As with many anime series, the background imagery of Trigun was striking. The fading of bright and neutral colors produced beautiful ombre skies. Another element that caught my eye was the detailed pueblo homes that adorned the canyon where most of the first episode took place. This once again suggested that the culture on planet Gunsmoke was regressive to modern thinking and therefore more historically based, rather than futuristic. Most characters, including but not limited to the main four, were extremely individualized in appearance, voice, and mannerisms, which showed a real commitment to personalization. 

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            Trigun speaks to its audience in a way that represents conflict resolution, defining elements of what it means to be human, and the struggles associated with overlapping eras (new age vs. retrospective ways of thinking). The take away message demonstrates the format by which an individual can pursue a journey of self-discovery and develop his personality without allowing conflicting worldviews to corrupt his self-image. This series certainly engaged viewers of all ages, and created an inviting and welcoming environment for the viewer to get lost within, which supports the major fan following that Trigun has established.

References

“The $$60,000,000,000 Man.” Trigun. MVM Films. Netflix. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.

Gombos, M. (2006, May 26). Gunning for Answers! An Interview with Trigun creator

            Yasuhiro Nightow. Retrieved September 15, 2014.

"Vash the Stampede." Comic Vine. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.