bigkahuna626-blog

[bigkahuna626-blog]

I think as a satire, yes it was made to make fun of a terrible time in world history. But it provided for an easy basis to create a story with characters that depicted their respective representation. As an offensive comedy, it works like many shows for us on adult swim. Something "Stupid" to watch that, doesnt have to be taken literally.

Today for class I was able to watch Hetalia: Axis Powers. I had never heard of this show before so I am glad I got the chance to watch it. I did not expect the show to be as unserious as it was, especially because it was taking place during such a serious time. I also found it super interesting how each country was represented by its stereotypes. It was kind of crazy to hear “Pasta!” as the first thing Italy says. These stereotypes were made to be satirical, but it shocked me to see, more than made me think. 

Because each character is literally a walking stereotype of the country they are trying to represent, there was a lot of nationalism displayed in the show. For example, Japan was displayed as an amazing country that was only trying to defend itself. In real life that wasn’t necessarily true. In real life, Japan was helping the rest of the axis powers commit genocides and invading other countries in Asia and torturing and killing their people. 

I didn’t really like how the show portrayed the countries as their stereotypes, especially when they are being depicted at such an important and difficult time. It made me uncomfortable to see Italy being displayed as a pasta lover, Germany as a tough guy, and Japan as an “innocent” person who was following Germany’s orders. Maybe I'm looking too much into it, but I didn’t really like seeing that. The axis powers did bad things, and it shouldn’t be glossed over for humor. 

Although it was satirical, in real life people should not use stereotypes to represent people. Many stereotypes that I hear often tend to be negative. People may or may not fit their stereotypes, but that doesn’t mean they are only their stereotypes. 

Overall, Hetalia: Axis Powers was a very goofy show. It was not my favorite, but it's characters had displayed a lot of nationalism.

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Hetalia - Blog Post

This was a cool watch, kinda reminded me of concepts like Clone High, finding a way to combine all the historical characters into a shared universe. The relationships between the characters in Hetalia are based on historical events, alliances, and conflicts. Each character in the anime represents a different nation. The episodes are organized as brier humor to relate the historical and cultural connections that exist between different nations through their respective represented character. The series sometimes exaggerates or twists historical events and national prejudices in order to make them more humorous. The show is definitely better when you understand the sly references thrown in and have a general understanding of world history.

The main characters are Italy, Japan, the Unites States, Russia, England, France, and Germany. Each character has their respective traits shown through the mass general assumptions of the country based on pop culture, war status, culinary specialties, and some prejudices. I understood that as a Japanese anime, this media would really lean into the way that the people of Japan viewed no only themselves but also the world. Some jokes truly landed their mark and made good fun of things that are generally understood. Some others may have been in bad taste dependent on the audience watching.

Media has a way of exaggerating real life, this show really is no different. Taking aspects of each country and shooting them to an 11. We see in other animes, the cultural representations of characters are based on what is presumed the norm or it’s a conglomeration of archetypes or personification of ideals held. (Ex. Star and stripe- My Hero Academia)

Its always good to see that different cultures can take a internal laugh at themselves as well as others around them. Humor can bring us all together if not based on the foundations of a negative connotation.

[bigkahuna626-blog]

I really enjoyed how even though they dont remember any of the events that went down. Both their lives were changed for the better because of it. Really brought that sense of a happy ending to this movie.

Today for class I was able to watch Your Name. I had seen this movie before and I loved it the first time I watched it. I really loved the art style of this movie. I was really happy to watch it again and see how my views on it have changed. 

In the movie, two teens, Mitsuha and Taki, experience a phenomenon in which they switch places with each other and live in each other's places. Through this process, both characters learn more about a different side of life they’ve never experienced. Mitsuha experiences the city life she's always wanted, while Taki learns more about the countryside and the religious experiences that Mitsuha usually goes through. At first they are confused, but over time get used to the fact that they’ll switch bodies. They create a system where they tell each other about their experiences in the diary on their phones. This system had worked well for them until the meteor hit Itomori, killing Mitsuha. This leads to Taki going to the countryside and rewinding time in order to save Mitsuha and the other people of Itomori that he had met in Mitsuha’s body. 

Foucault brings up the idea that formed identities are heavily influenced by historical and social aspects. This can be seen in the movie as both Mitsuha and Taki had changed once they started living another life. They learned more about things they’ve never experienced before, which helped shape them into who they were as adults. Similarly, although he doesn’t remember the importance of it, the comet that hit Itomori greatly changed Taki’s life forever, even going as far as influencing him to become an architect. He cared so much about protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves that he wanted to be able to help them protect themselves by building better infrastructure.

Overall, Your Name was a beautiful movie and I can’t wait to recommend it to my friends!

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Your Name - Blog Post

This anime movie was actually super interesting in concept for me. The freaky Friday style plot mixed with a bit of time travel and universal randomness truly made it a fun watch. The animation was also great, gotta give it to these Japanese animation studious who do amazing work conveying so many different aspects through their work. The plot follows our two main protagonists, Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana, as they begin randomly switching bodies. The two initially confused and fed up with the situation, go through the hijinks associated with trying to adapt to another persons body, life, and relationships. The reasoning behind why these events occur are left a bit ambiguous as there is no real explanation as to why the two begin swapping bodies. It could partially be because of Mitsuha’s family connection tom the shrine and  her offering mixed in with the universes magical powers of destiny and fate. It could be plot armor ? the world may never know.

We see the two begin helping each other out by leaving notes when they switch bodies, so that they can keep up with their lives and create some kind of order to the chaos. They both become thorough invested in each others lives as it technically becomes their own. Taki eventually stops swapping bodies and feels the need to uncover what happened and reconnect with Mitsuha in some way. He discovers, she died three years prior from a comet hitting her town, meaning they were transcending time and space! He is eventually able to gain the connection back and warn her of the coming events ultimately altering history and creating an all new branched timeline.

( Avengers Endgame style )

In this new timeline they don’t recall any of the events that transpired but as fate would have it the love story ends with them meeting in Tokyo. Alluding to the possible future these characters may have in this new reality.

All in all this was a cool watch, the love story while far fetched extends themes of belonging that anyone could relate to. Mitshuna having wanted to always live in a big city and getting to do so through the eyes of Taki extends the emotions of peoples who live outside of major cultural centers. The draw of the big city or central diaspora is what many people who aren’t born into long for. This movie also goes into the emotions of understanding, through literally putting someone in someone else’s shoes. That way there is a garnered level of respect for that persons life, problems, and involvement.

[bigkahuna626-blog]

The writer definetly knew what he was doing, adding so many levels of intraspective content that sends you for a whiplash. This ending while just as confusing and out of left field, was kinda better in my opinion. Only because it made you really have to sit there and think.......wtf did I just watch. Kinda like the endings of Berserk.

End of Evangelion

Sorry for cursing, but what the actual fuck did I just watch. To understand this film, I basically had to read an entire essay about background information that can only be found in outside sources such as video games. I even watched a 5 minute YouTube video purely just to understand the infamous hospital scene. 

If you're confused like I was please read this:

and read:

https://imgur.com/2oRZv

Shinji at this point in the story is just absolutely fucked up in the head mentally. Both of his friends leave. Asuka is comatose. Rei is swimming in a juice bathtub. He even killed the guy that finally accepted him and even liked him. By the way apparently some people think Kawaru is a representation of Jesus who needed to be killed. Anyways, Shinji was just mentally not there. Shinji's in this shit mental state and knowing Shinji, he doesn't know how to properly express his emotions. So naturally what does he decide to do? Bust a load to Asuka's comatose body. Btw although the anime doesn't show any attraction for Asuka prior to this (except the kiss maybe and the childhood friend fantasy) apparently there's some side content that makes their relationship make a bit more sense.

I would explain the events of the story in more detail, but reddit can explain it better. Basically at the end Shinji decides he would rather live in the new destroyed world than a fantasy and the only person that we can see who also decided to stay is Asuka. Basically,Shinji chokes Asuka so he knows he's not living in some weird fantasy. Asuka caresses his cheek and calls him disgusting, letting him know that it isn't a fantasy. Basically Shinji has the craziest character development in all of anime history. Although it's hard to say if he's even alright at the end.

On one hand I think Evangelion is a masterpiece and on the other hand I think it's garbage. It's an anomaly within anime. As a story writer, if most people can't understand your story, then it's badly written. However, Evangelion reminded me of poetry. It was confusing but clearly had deeper meanings. I doubt anyone could ever COMPLETELY understand Evangelion by only watching the series&movie. It practically requires discussion between people to even grasp it. If the writers wanted to leave a lasting impression, they certainly achieved their goal.

[bigkahuna626-blog]

The End of Evangelion - Blog Post

We have watched a ton of this anime it feels like, but I guess it stands to prove why Evangelion is as influential as it has been throughout the years in this genre. The end of evangelion offers a different fleshed pout approach to the initial series ending. This portion was released as a movie, allowing the creators another go at ending the infamous anime in a differnt take. While staying in line with the story beats of episodes before, we pick up after Shinji has killed Kaworu. Seeking help, Shinji tries to reconcile and accept his life and situation at the worst possible time.  

We see the organization SEELE enacting their plan to combine the consciousness of everyone, beginning by attacking NERV. Asuka is revived by NERV to fight but ultimately meets her demise in such a brutal fashion. This continues as we see pivotal characters all die. We learn that Gendo Shinjis father is enacting this plan of instrumentality that has begun and cannot be stopped. Gendo has been using Rei in a long game to merge everyone in hopes for him to be with his wife Yui again. Rei after learning this gives everyone a choice of becoming part of the collective consciousness or choosing their won individual life. 

We see Shinji go through his mental anguish and emotions as he searches within to understand what he believes is the right choice. In the end Shinji chooses to continue his individual life, waking on a deserted beach. On this beach Asuka is also there, her having been killed before, but also choosing her individual life instead of collected consciousness. The ending from there is a bit weird and serves as an open-ended narrative to what the hell just happened and what happens from here. 

This story is related to people in the introspective mental aspect. Choosing humanity and individuality over a collective good. The perfect imperfection of humanity is what makes life beautiful. Shinji, having accepted himself, chooses to live his life knowing that it included pain and loss.  

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Right there with you, like its good but not jaw dropping changing viewpoints good. ( I guess I've been spoiled from animes with twists like Attack On Titan ). I was told that the movies delve into the story and characters a bit more to garner better understanding of the original so I'm looking forward to watching them to at least feel satisfied. All in all, solid action scenes though !

Evangelion Part 2

Alright Part 2 is where I can actually get to writing. I wrote my part 1 blog almost entirely on Shinji so I'll start off by explaining what I meant by his “character development” that I mentioned in my last post.

Those last 2 episodes were probably super confusing. They probably felt like they came out of nowhere. Some people say it's an amazing ending, while others say it's horrible. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. I even needed the help of redditors to get a semi-understanding of what it meant without having the movies spoiled for me. Basically these two episodes are all about Shinji's self hatred and at the very end he comes to finally accept himself. Really, it seems to be that simple. Of course, I haven't watched the movies yet, so if there's more to it, that's probably why.

 Honestly, I knew that Shinji hated piloting the Eva, but I feel that we don't get a true understanding of his self-hatred until these last two episodes. You can say this is dumb, because it may seem like the writers just suddenly had Shinji hate himself, but personally I feel that the story had some obvious hints along the way. When people yelled or even hurt Shinji, he never defended himself. He always avoided problems. Someone who hates themselves, doesn't have the power to protect themselves. 

Alright, I should probably talk about some other characters. Rei still confuses me and I'm betting there's more info In the movies because it seems she has some connection to Shinji's mother. Rei's character development is basically her smiling and shedding a tear. She's attempting to find her humanity and sense of self even though she knows she is different from everyone else. 

Asuka says she's piloting the Eva for herself, but in reality she pilots the Eva as a coping mechanism for her mother. Her mother never cared for her, and the chance to become an Eva pilot meant that people would always care for her, unlike her mother. She believes that if she isn't the best, people will stop giving her attention. She believes that she'll lose any value she has. As of the ending of the series, Asuka is still in a depressive state, but I'm assuming she'll get back on her feet in the movies. 

Finally, I'll talk about Misato Katsuragi. At first, she just seems to be this strong, independent, happy, snobbish, beautiful lady. However, we later find out that she's dealing with some serious trauma of her own. Her dad, who she originally hated, sacrificed his life to save her. It left her confused as to whether she hated her dad or not. She unintentionally sought out things that reminded her of him such as her job and her boyfriend to fill the void left in her heart. At the end of the series, it seems to point out that she is scared of being alone. Her dad leaves her. Her boyfriend leaves her. She just wants anyone's attention and even seemingly makes a move on Shinji.  

Hopefully y'all didn't seriously read all 500+ word yapping session, but part 2 was definitely where the phique of the characters was delved into more. As for my opinions on Evangelion (before watching movies), I liked it, but I don't really understand the hype. 

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 2) - Blog Post

The next few episodes we were instructed to view on Neon Genesis Evangelion, provided for a much better character exploration and depth to the lore. I understand now why this anime is revered so much and has so many additional adaptations and lore additions. AND we cannot forget to mention the awesome fight scenes we get to see, some of which truly highlight the skill of the animators and the technology they had at that time. We see how Shinji continues his journey of self-doubt and anguish to understand his place in the world. His interactions with the different characters vary as his mannerisms are not taken too well by some, as others understand his level of disarray. 

Exploring the depths of Shinjis inner mind and the affects that Piloting the EVA have had on him, help us resonate with him and the life he is undergoing. His ultimate test is provided through the addition of Kaworu to the team. Shinji is able to gain a sense of understanding and belonging by Kaworus levels of interaction, acceptance, and support. This scenario is then flipped as Kaworu turns out to be the final Angel that the team must beat, ultimately shattering Shinjis emotional state. Shinji in reluctance has to stab Kaworu (Tabris) to complete his duty and protect the world from The Third Impact occurring. These events serve as the jumping off pivotal point for shinji to challenge his internal emotions and confront them once and for all. 

The final episode was a bit different from what I expected out of the series finale, but it gave us a through look into shinjis mind and feelings after having lived through the events of the series. Shinji having confronted his inner feelings, chooses to accept himself and move foward, feeling like he has finally found a base to stand on. 

The events of this series relateds to human interaction and intrapersonal feelings about ones self. If you take away the layers of mechs and monsters, we have a coming-of-age story of a boy just trying to understand who he is and why the world is the way it is. This can relate to many poeple across the world who go through their own coming of age moments throughout their adolescence. Having to tackle the feelings of being an outcast, or not fitting into the role society expects of you.  

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Hey, 

The themes of understood masculinity could definitely be argued with Shinjis character. As he is not the bold hero archetype, he is placed into a position of importance and is forced to act. His actions in my belief go beyond a "Male' predisposed format and reaches deeper into a humanistic willingness to act. While yes, he is just a child. His reluctance and shy demeanor are based on his nature and nurture background. He doesn't know better, although his father and the audience want him too. 

Evangelion, Masculinity, and Gender Expectations

I can see why Evangelion's considered one of the greatest and most popular anime. I love sci-fi and giant robots (this is by the same guy who made Shin Godzilla, btw), but while Gundam didn't really draw me in with its characters or overall plot, Evangelion has some great aspects to it. There's plenty of plot to dig into with it. It definitely seems like something that is meant to be watched multiple times to fully grasp what's happening in this trippy anime.

I feel so bad for Shinji just based on the episodes we watched of the first season. This boy hasn't seen his father in three years and is convinced he was abandoned because he wasn't useful -- when he is brought into NERV, he expresses this to his father, only to get the response "you are now." So far, the only reason his father brings him to his workplace is to force him to pilot an EVA, or Evangelion, all while Shinji gets to watch his father be more fatherly towards one of the other pilots, Rei. In the end, Shinji's first piloting experience becomes a disaster, as the Angel he was attacking busts open the mecha's head and Shinji blacks out, and it's implied by Misato that he had a heart attack. The employees at NERV blame Shinji for not properly controlling the mech, and even accuse him of having an "insatiable hunger for [wasting their] resources."

The point of the module - Evangelion's commentary on hegemonic masculinity and "what it means to be a man." Shinji is well-mannered, soft, and doesn't easily take to violence. He doesn't fit into the traditional roles of hegemonic masculinity - he doesn't take advantage of Rei when he accidentally walks in on her naked, he doesn't yell or get violent when he's mad, and he tends to respond to stress by fleeing or running away. The only time (in the episodes we watched) that Shinji gets violent is when he is under the threat of death by an Angel, and when Toji forces Shinji to punch him without holding back, to make up for punching Shinji previously.

Shinji is constantly dismissed by his father for being hesitant to participate in violence. Whenever Shinji expresses that he wants to stop piloting Unit 01, his father either confirms to Shinji that he will, or says that Rei will do it instead, wheeling in her stretcher where she is bundled in casts and constantly in pain. This forces Shinji to pilot the mech himself, as he doesn't feel like it's fair to make Rei do it. His father in these episodes exerts his power over Shinji, to the point where Shinji doesn't even truly see him as his dad anymore, and comments this to Rei.

I just want to say.... WHAT DID THEY EXPECT making a 14 year old pilot a giant robot with no training, and immediately dropping him down like 50 feet away from the monster currently destroying the town??

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 1) - Blog Post

Neon Genesis Evangelion had been on my watch list of amines for some time now, so it is coincidental that I took this class and we are having to watch some of its episodes. I personally saw the movie pacific rim years ago and loved the concept and was later told it was inspired by aspects of this anime. At first interaction we are introduced to Shinji, a lowly boy who has been chosen to pilot the Evangelion Unit. He is chosen due to the organization who controls these robots dire need for a pilot that has similar biological characteristics as the original pilot. The original pilot in question being shinjis father who is out of commission, making Shinji last-minute addition in a time of absolute need.  

Shinji, having absolutely no training (or a spine by that matter) is reluctant to join the organization and pilot the suit to fight off the “Angels” creatures who are attacking Tokyo. This threat mixed with the inability of any additional pilots available to take on the task, puts Shinji in a terrible position. He agrees to fight as the pilot and almost immediately gets killed. By absolute plot armor the evangelion begins a last second rampage of its own defeating the angel as Shinji goes unconscious.  

Shinji later comes to, and we see as he continues to go with the organization in their attempt to structure him into a proper pilot due to his biology being most synergistic with the evangelion.  

I personally disliked Shinji from the very start. He must be one of the most annoying characters I have seen. In fairness, he was coaxed into becoming the pilot of a massive government project with no formal training within a few hours, so that is nerve wrecking. But still, any Boy being told he can fight giant monsters in a badass mechanical suit would have put forth 10x more effort than what was shown by that wimp. He better get it together in the next couple of episodes or this is out on my watch list lol. 

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Hey

I liked your mention that this game when compared to the last anime ( Nuasicaa) shows that nature had become more reliant on humans VS having a evolution to try and recooperate itself. It begs thew question as to our own ecosystem. While nature in real life can heal itself given time and limited intervention. What is the percentage of damage that can be done before things are completely irreversible ???

XenoBlade Chronicles 2

I've heard a bit about this game before so I thought it was an interesting pick for the class. The anime is a clear cut comment on the relationship between humanity and nature. Basically, Klaus destroys the entire world and is trying to rebuild it. He uses nanobots and the titans in order to achieve this restoration. Humanity is clearly struggling with the absence of nature and would have completely died off if it wasn't for Klaus creating the titans. Humanities depictions of Heaven or “Elysium” is basically just a place that has nature within it. After living in a world absent of nature, humanity's greatest wish is simply to return to it. It comments on today's world that is actively harming nature. It's easy to destroy nature but hard to rebuild, and once it's gone, you'll wish you never destroyed it. So, we should preserve nature, so there is never a point in time where humanity is threatened by the absence of it.

What's interesting is that unlike in Nausicaa, it seems that nature has no way of naturally healing itself. Nature is completely reliant on Klaus and his plan in order to regenerate. Nausicaa gives the idea that nature can live independently without us but that we cannot live without nature. Xenoblade makes it seem that we are intereliant on each other. Personally, I think nature being capable on its own makes more sense from a current standpoint. We'd really have to mess up the world, for nature to not be able to survive without us. Ultimately, our job as humans is to simply not prevent nature from doing its purpose and preserving itself.

Anyways, like I said before Xenoblade is a clear comment on humanity's relationship with nature. We shouldn't harm nature for our own greed. We are reliant on nature to survive.

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Blog Post

The Game Xenoblad Chronicles 2 begins as our main character Rex, agrees to retrieve a mystery relic from a ship that has broken down. During the expedition, he comes upon Pyra, who is described to be the Aegis, a Blade of legend with a range of skills. After suffering a fatal wound at the hands of a mercenary named Jin, Rex is brought back to life by Pyra, who imparts her vitality to him. Through this a relationship is formed between them as Driver and Blade, as they begin their journey together with the goal of reaching Elysium, a fabled paradise. 

As Rex and Pyra make their way through the many Titans of Alrest, they are being chased by an organization that is commanded by Malos, another Aegis who is working to destroy the planet. Throughout the course of their trip, Rex and his companions learn the truth about the Aegis, the World Tree, and the beginnings of Alrest. They discover that Elysium has deteriorated into a  wasteland. The architect revealed to be a human named Klaus, who mistakenly constructed the world as part of an experiment that split reality into two dimensions. In the last act, Rex and his friends face up against Malos. Rex and his companions are successful in taking down Malos, saving the annihilation of the entire world. The game concludes with the Titans of Alrest disappearing, but the people of the world survive, finding hope for a new beginning on the surface of the planet. 

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 explores topics in which civilizations inhabit the decaying bodies of Titans, serving as a reflection of concerns around the exhaustion of natural resources and the fragility of life against larger natural forces. In Japan, a nation with restricted land and resources, the game's portrayal of a deteriorating planet might be related to items such as deforestation, destruction, and war.  

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Couldnt agree more. Our own impact on the envioernment has been debated for years. And while this is a dramatization of human emotions and thoughts, its core story of enviornmentalism is such an important take away. We need to conserve what we can, where we can, in effort to protect the planet we live on and the survival of our species.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | Themes of Ecocriticism

The Plot Of The Anime

We first see that the land is filled with dangerous fungi releasing fumes of lethal gas; the world is all moldy and wrenched. People and their animals are wearing gasmasks to protect themselves from breathing in spores. We also learn that villages and the people in them are being consumed in the Sea of Decay, a jungle of toxic fungi and plants that slowly encroach the open land, filling everything in its path with mold; this happened starting after 1,000 years of industrial development.

We also get introduced to a woman named Nausicaä, who flies using her Mehve gadget. She is the princess of Valley of the Wind, a small country where salty wind protects them from corruption. Nausicaä, intelligent and adventurous, gathers powerful resources for her village and wants to learn more about the toxic world and the origins. She has a skill of knowing how to keep any creatures docile. Nausicaä also made companions with Teto, a wild fox-squirrel, gifted by Lord Yupa, their region's greatest swordsmen and a close friend of King Jhil of Valley of the Wind (Nausicaä's father).

The Issue In Question

The anime takes place in a post-apocalypse futuristic world (with medieval aspects). The Seven Days of Fire incident, caused by powerful humans, created suffering to the world, destroying most of the life that civilians depend on. Now, these civilians have deep care for clean crops, water, and air. The world is devastated by the spreading toxic, war, and famine. Crops are hard to grow due to fungi and when nature is threatened, massive invertebrate creatures like the Ohmu can go in a rampage, which can cause destruction and civilian deaths. Torumekia, a aggressive nation, have goals of destroying the fungi and insects but that seems to be a bad idea as the insects will all fight back. Moreover, Nausicaä discovered it is the land itself, not the plants and insects, making the world poisonous, and the underground water is only clean because of the trees under the Sea of Decay, which Torumekia affiliates fail to understand.

The issue that this anime addresses is the environmental damage that the humans, corporates, and other organizations are creating. However, the corporates nor the governments seems to understand the environmental-impacting situation so this anime is a way for people to spread awareness to ensure nature is treated carefully. We can see WWII nuclear themes like when the U.S. government bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, destroying life and causing famine, which the government doesn't feel remorse for those innocent civilians, which represents the Seven Days of Fire. Torumekia and its affiliates are basically like those organizations who contribute to the environmental negligence and also blame the Sea of Decay (even though the sea provides the clean resources) and the insects for the deaths it creates.

The anime also reveals the consequences when nature is abused. When the Torumekia affiliate, the Kurotowa army, used a baby Ohmu to bait the adult Ohmus, this created a wave of angry Ohmus that has the ability to destroy villages. This resembles the impact of global warming when plants are killed by smog from industries, much like when global warming is the revenge against the consequences of humanity's actions, is the same as when the Ohmus create a genocide for what the feared humans are doing.

The Issue Addressed In Japan & Beyond

In Japan, we can connect the damage created by industries that affected humans like the Fukushima incident. Fukushima was constructed to serve energy as Japan is becoming a heavily industrialized nation after WWII. This disaster leaked radioactive waste into the water, creating contamination, potentially caused radioactive deaths from civilians affected by it.

While Japan's industrial plants contributes a part of the environment impact, we can broaden the scope as well as discuss the most relevant issue connected with this anime's themes. We can see that almost all the nations are emitting potential toxic chemicals into the air due to the rise of industrialization. We have power plants releasing smog, nuclear reactors releasing radioactive waste, and even the manufacture of plastics release their own deadly chemicals.

This is a global issue, the harmful waste the industries are leaving can create consequences such as environmental destruction, killing off plants and animals that serve oxygen as well as food, which can directly affect us humans as a consequence. Global warming is also another impact due to CO2 emissions from industries, leading to warmer climate, increased hurricanes, frequent storms, and even rising sea levels.

My Personal Takes

I could be affected by the impact of humans and groups associated with industrialization as I am living in Florida, where hurricanes are rather very common and destructive. When I was living in Tampa, we started to have hurricanes as early as June, which is the first one I've seen that early. I also experienced frequent and heavy rainstorms as well as last year's winter being not as cold as in the past.

Overall, the anime is warning us about the changes we as a collective human society is making, and I can already start to feel those changes, like nature is attacking us back with climate and storms. This seems like a significant lesson as it is one of the most debated topics in areas like science and politics, and I believe we should reduce these harmful emissions and wastes before it is too late as seen in the anime.

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - Blog Post

The anime Nausicaa of the valley of wind was a beautiful tale highlighting the extremes of global environmental destruction and how we must come together to coexist with our planet in favor of a better future. Nausicaa, our protagonist, lives in a world ravaged by a previous world ending event known as the “Seven Days of Fire “. This event was caused by the wars and engagement of different nations which ultimately led to the destruction of all modern civilization and the ecosystem as a whole. Following the Seven Days of Fire, the human population declined and split into several groups. Their location depends on the few safe regions left, like the Valley of the wind where Nausicaa lives. The other lands become the Toxic jungle where mutated animals and plants reside, creating a biome hazardous to human life. The valley's powerful winds carry away the harmful spores from the surrounding forest making it one of the few remaining areas survivable for humans. 

Throughout the anime we see how Nausicaa has become friends with a large bug who is from the omhu race who resides in the jungle. They both encounter the truth of the toxic environment's purpose, as a reaction by nature to cleanse the toxins from the soil and water. This leads Nausicaa to begin advocation for a coexistence between the people and the nature they seek to destroy. By the final conflict we see how the people lust for the destruction of the toxic jungle and its inhabitants lead to a possible major catastrophe which will only worsen the current standings of everyone. This is only halted by Nausicaa herself, who in a last-ditch effort sacrifices herself to try and keep peace. This action leads to both sides realizing the results of their actions and backing down. Nausica is revived and can begin efforts to establish peace and coexistence between everyone. 

This story has been the most in line with environmental changes not only affecting Japan but the entire planet. Japan has gone through major catastrophe with destruction to their environment from the ravages of war and industrialization. This anime teaches us that we are only hurting ourselves when taking the natural world for granted. We must find a way to live in harmony or we will reap the field we have sown.  

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Hey

So this anime did take a jump into the very delicate subject matter of cross dressing and the trans community. It was interesting to really think about how much easier it is for a female to dress as a male vs the other way around. While this anime is a few years old now, the place we are currently in as a society has changed. The acceptance of many kinds of identities and choices is vastly broadening. We can attest this for America for sure, it intrigues me to wonder how the climate of Japan has taken to the same movements? 

Wandering Son

Honestly, at first I thought this anime was a comment on discrimination against transgender people. However, by the end of the show, I think the anime was more of a comment on cross-dressing. Either way, the discrimination portrayed could easily be applied to either one because most people can't differentiate between the two. Most people, if they saw a bio male in a dress, would automatically jump to the conclusion that the person was transgender.

I thought it was interesting how the anime portrayed the contrast between male and female cross-dressers. Women can pretty much easily get away with dressing as a man, but if a dude were to wear a skirt (unless you're about to whip out the bagpipes), people would judge him. My personal thoughts on the cause of this is that women tend to be more fashionable in general, so a woman dressing as a man could just be seen as fashion.

The anime makes a pretty clear statement that society frowns upon men to women cross-dressing. What I think is interesting is how we've applied gender labels to so many things. Even the color pink is seen as girly. Personally, as a dude, I love the color pink. Society, from a young age, conditions us to like certain things. Boys are given toys different from girls, they're dressed in different clothing, etc. There's nothing biologically that implies a guy can't like wearing a skirt. It's all psychological conditioning.

I wonder if transgender people feel that they were born into the wrong body because their interests happened to align with the opposite gender's. gender and sex are fundamentally different after all. One is based on psychological aspects while the other is based on biological aspects. In my opinion, theres actually nothing psychologically wrong with transgender people at all, rather, it's society assigning labels that's the problem.

Society is wrong for discriminating these people just because they don't fall under it's standards. Just let people like what they like. If it isn't hurting anyone, then what business do you have with them. To all my homies out there, if you wanna go dress up as a woman, go do it. To all the ladies out there, if you wanna dress up as dude, go do it. Who cares what society thinks, cause it's all BS anyways.

p.s. if you disagree or feel strongly about any of the things I said just know I don't read any of yalls reposts, but feel free to criticize🙏

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Wandering Son - Blog Post

The delicate depiction of transgender problems and the intricacies of puberty that the anime Wander Son show has earned it some notoriety. A strong and thought-provoking series, it tackles these subjects with a combination of realism and humanity, which makes it a compelling viewing experience. This anime is notably derived from its Manga origin, focusing on Both Yoshino Takatsuki and Shuichi Nitori. They are presented as close friends who struggle with their ideas on what their gender should be opposed to what it actually is. Yoshino has a desire to be a guy, whereas Shuichi has a want to exist as a girl with their current genders being the opposite. 

 During their first year at their new middle school, they start to work through their emotions. The episodes center on the challenges and complexity of Shuichi and Yoshino's identities, as well as their interactions with other people who might not comprehend their circumstances. Attempting to understand themselves while also attempting to handle the challenge of expressing their feelings in a way that is visible to others, they are met with a variety of responses from their peers. As the students attempt to adjust to the new circumstances, the most significant challenge they face is the fight to express their authentic selves and to cope with the judgments of their classmates. As they continue to support one another, they ultimately strengthen their bond with one another, despite the fact that they are subjected to both support and discrimination from individuals in their immediate environment. 

This Anime takes no time relating itself to real life aspects of the LGBT+ community and their struggle to understand themselves and integrate with the world around them. With cultures around the world having varied and mixed viewpoints on the topic. This anime takes a peek into the emotions and struggles these people have to deal with throughout their lives.  

[bigkahuna626-blog]

Hey

Im glad another guy in the class was intrigued by the show. I mentioned in my post how my cousin loved it, but I truly did not have a reason to watch at the time. It was interesting to see how this kids show from the 90s tackled societal issues. Hidden behind loads of typical anime tropes and jokes of course. It also reminded me of the original few seasons of Pokémon in its plot and animation style. Overall solid watch! If I have a daughter in the future, I may enjoy having her watch this as an intro to anime one day. 

Sailor Moon

Not gonna lie, I actually enjoyed watching this show more than I thought I would and I'm a guy. I went into this thinking it was going to be as boring as the gundam anime, but Sailor Moon was a pretty interesting watch. The villains kinda reminded me of team rocket and how every episode they'd show up with a different plan.

Anyways, Sailor Moon is obviously big on girl power. I bet it's not an accident that we recently in the course read about Bishoujo. Sailor Moon is probably the most iconic Bishoujo after all. I wasn't alive in the 1990’s so don't know for sure what it was like, but I bet narratives portraying strong independent women were not as common as they are today.

Japan especially is a place where people don't tend to go outside the norm. That just makes it harder for societal views to change. In Japan, although it's getting better, it's still very common for women to be solely in charge of home duties while the man goes to work. Even in Sailor Moon, the mom is depicted as a housewife while the dad seems to be a salaryman. Sailor Moon, herself, however isn't good at sticking to society's expectations. She's not good at school, she's always late, and she eats a lot. Yet, she doesn't let that stop her from saving the world.

Sailor Moon also has a lot of comments on societal problems. The enemy often makes use of these problems in order to gain energy for their lord. Some of the biggest problems they pointed out were the expectation of women to always be thin and beautiful, the problem of kids being pressured too much over studying, and consumerism. These issues have even continued to persist until today. Sailor Moon, although disguised as a children's show, made a lot of comments on society. Society is hard to change, but the easiest way to do it is through new generations. Media such as Sailor Moon paved the way for progress.