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muzetrigger · 3 days ago

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Shakespeare, but in Space with Giant Robots and Sapphics!

Yes, this is about G-Witch (Spoilers incoming).

I probably this mention way too often, but I teach English, and occasionally, that means I get to teach Shakespeare too! And what better way to teach Shakespeare than with anime?

Now, if you're a fan of G-Witch, you've probably heard that it's an adaptation of The Tempest, but let's do a quick review just in case.

Miranda - The Tempest (1916), by John William Watterhouse

The Tempest is play written by William Shakespeare around 1610-1611. It's usually classified as a Tragicomedy and centers around Prospero, the former Duke of Milan.

Why former?

Well, Prospero has a brother called Antonio who collaborated with Alonso, the King of Naples, to exile Prospero and usurp his dukedom.

Why is the King of Naples handing out dukedoms in Milan despite being on the opposite end of the Italian peninsula, a region renowned for its intensely antagonistic city-states?

Because shut up. (I have no idea)

Anyway, Prospero is forced into exile on a remote island with his daughter Miranda, but years later, Alonso and Antonio happen to be on a ship passing nearby the island and Prospero shipwrecks them.

How?

Well, Prospero is a literal wizard. (This is maybe why the king agreed to exile Prospero because he was spending too much time reading instead of, y'know, governing.)

So Prospero conjures the titular tempest to wreck their ship, only he doesn't really wreck it, he just separates everyone on board for his vengeance.

See, Alonso and Antonio aren't the only ones onboard. There's also Ferdinand (Alonso's son and the Prince of Naples) and Sebastion (Alonso's brother). Prospero isolates Ferdinand then lures him to his residence on the island where he manipulates the prince into falling in love with his daughter.

Well, it's a bit more like love at first sight between Ferdinand and Miranda, so Prospero actually plays the overprotective dad role to make their relationship more satisfying, which is Prospero's real goal. By marrying the two of them, he essentially reclaims his and Miranda's noble status.

Oh, and he also lures the rest of the ship's passengers into an illusory banquet before trapping and subjecting them to hellish nightmares. Eventually, he lets them out and chides them for their betrayal before revealing that he's married Ferdinand and Miranda. Then he calls the ship back with all of its crew still alive and they get ready to return to "civilized" Italy.

One of the things that makes the ending of The Tempest interesting though is that Prospero also chooses to give up his magic when he leaves the island. Many view this as an metaphor for Shakespeare's own creative powers. After The Tempest, it's believed that Shakespeare stopped writing plays on his own, and when Prospero gives his final speech, he requests that the audience release him from the play.

Anyway, here are the characters in the play:

And here are the characters that actually matter:

Character Portraits from Classical Comics' The Tempest - The Graphic Novel (2009)

Hey, there are two other characters I haven't talked about yet!

Well, their names are Ariel and Caliban.

Sound familiar?

That's right, the Gundams in G-Witch!

In The Tempest, Ariel and Caliban are Prospero's servants. Really, they're his slaves, though Prospero treats Ariel a lot better on account of Caliban attempting to rape Miranda in the past. That being said, the island is actually Caliban's home. In fact, when Prospero and Miranda first arrived, he taught them how to survive on the island before being enslaved.

Prospero frees both Ariel and Caliban at the end of the play, but he spends much of the play alternatively strong-arming and complimenting Ariel into executing his revenge plot while Caliban plots to murder Prospero for his own revenge, forming the comedic subplot of The Tempest.

There's a lot to unpack about imperialism in The Tempest and which aspects Shakespeare reifies and criticizes in the play, but here is a very basic relationship chart to go along with this very basic summary.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH WITCH FROM MERCURY???

Well if we turn to the Witch from Mercury relationship chart we get:

And hmm, doesn't that fit like a glove? There are actually a ton of parallels between the two stories aside from names:

Prospera's group, the Vanadis Institute, is betrayed by Delling leading to Prospera going undercover on Mercury

Both Delling and Prospera's daughters also fall in love and get married

Suletta's school bucket list is a parallel for Miranda's fascination and excitement for a "brave, new world"

Suletta's sacrifice at the end of the series disables the local GUND format devices and mirrors Prospero giving up his magic

Vim Jeturk attempts to assassinate Delling and Sebastion attempts to kill Alonso are both supposed allies making a power grab

The GUND bit clones are eerily reminiscent of the host of spirits Prospero also controls

Gundam pilots are referred to as "witches" while Prospero is a literal wizard

Gundams are banned because they cause data storms

And the tension between Earthians and Spacians is a mirror for the exploitation and power dynamics under imperialist rule in much the same way that Prospero's control over Caliban and Ariel is

Now, obviously The Tempest and Witch from Mercury are not 1:1 stories. You may have even noticed that Delling is on the relationship chart twice.

Why?

Well, Witch from Mercury's characters often share multiple roles with their The Tempest counterparts.

Of course Delling is a stand in for both Alonso and Antonio, but we later learn that Aerial is actually Ericht Samaya, Prospera's first daughter, and that Prospera's big goal (aside from revenge) is securing Eri's future and freedom (and the big reason that Ariel goes along with Prospero's revenge plot is because he wants to be free). That makes her both an Ariel and a Miranda analogue.

Prospera is obviously a stand-in for Prospero, but she's also a reference to Sycorax, a character who never makes an appearance on stage, but is the sea witch who gives birth to Caliban and traps Ariel in a tree. Even though Prospera is scheming for Eri's freedom, she's also the person who put Eri in a Gundam frame in the first place, as well as being a Gundam pilot/Witch herself.

Miorine shares Ferdinand's place as the next in-line to a fantastically powerful position, but her relationship with her father is much closer to Miranda and Prospero, not only in terms of gender, but also in rebellion.

And Suletta is actually an amalgamation of 4+ characters!

She's Prospera's daughter and she's filled with wide-eyed wonder at exploring a new world, so she's part Miranda, but she sacrifices her "magic" at the end of the series like Prospero. On the other hand as the Holder, she has to fight for Miorine's hand in marriage to prove herself like Ferdinand does.

But most of all, Suletta is Caliban.

Obviously, Suletta pilots the Calibarn at the end of the series, but more so her character arc mirrors Caliban's.

For one, between Ericht and herself, Suletta is by far the less important of the two to Prospera, similar to how Prospero by far favors Ariel.

She's also mostly* a tool for Prospera's revenge. Of course there are a couple of nods that Prospera, and Ericht in particular, care about Suletta, but she is an Eri-clone and she was created to fulfill Prospera's designs.

But, Suletta also comes into direct conflict with her mother at the end of the series. Her motivations couldn't be any more different from Caliban's, but ultimately, she takes up arms against the person ruling her life in an attempt to reclaim some agency, and unlike Caliban she succeeds.

One of the things I really enjoy about G-Witch is that, despite it's very rushed second season, it reimagines Miranda, Ferdinand, and Caliban in much more active, influential, and sympathetic roles. They aren't just pawns in Prospera's schemes; they have their own agendas and are willing to step far out of line with their inspirations in order to achieve them.

I could also talk about how Miorine and Suletta are more fully realized Anthy and Utena's because guess what?

G-Witch is also a Revolutionary Girl Utena adaptation!

But that's a separate post I need to write.

Coming soon!*

*probably never

So for everyone who thinks that Shakespeare is just a collection of forsooth's and weird toxic romance, I raise you Giant Robot Space Lesbians* (they're actually bi don't @me)

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chickenstilldancing · 1 hour ago

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Unfortunately there still are people dense enough to think that Kyoko is Kikyō and Godai is Inuyasha (matter of "vibes", I guess?) anyway YES YES YES! This is the right way to read/watch Inuyasha.

(Yes, I said "watch" too: just use your brain and you'll see that "Can't I have both?" is ooc as hell, how can you take that shit seriously?)

Part of the problem though on the other hand is that many people will come and say that Kikyō is not after all Inuyasha's wife, she was just his crush, they didn't know each other, not really, they didn't even share a kiss and so here we go with this common refrain according to which Inuyasha isn't allowed to grieve so much over Kikyō, because if you come to know what True Love feels like why are you still wasting your time with this pathetic ghost? I know from where this general sentiment comes, it's just that these people hate to see Kagome hurt and it's 100% understandable but why can't you empathize with Inuyasha too? Is it really that difficult? I mean, may you like it or not, but Kikyō still is an important person for him, even though she not always deserves his generosity and worry, his actions are not in vain, in fact love is supposed to be free, unconditional and so much he learned from who? Exactly, from Kagome! Can't you see the beauty of it?

All right, maybe he shouldn't be so "considerate" towards Kikyō if that comes at Kagome's expense, making her feel insecure, but is it truly his fault if every time Naraku forces Inuyasha to relive the same trauma of Kikyō's death over and over again?

(I don't remember what I was getting at with this, but hopefully it still makes sense.)

In today's episode of Shut Up Robin, Nobody Cares:

I finished Maison Ikkoku back in February, and I had a lot of feelings about the series. (It's good, do yourself a favor and go read it if you haven't.) As I read through it, I couldn't shake the thought: this is the caliber of romantic development Rumiko Takahashi can bring to the table?? We could've had this kind of relationship development in InuYasha??? 😭😭

The other thought I couldn't shake: InuYasha fans who still question the sincerity and depth of InuYasha's feelings for Kagome might benefit from reading Maison Ikkoku all the way to the end. They should read the final chapters of Maison Ikkoku, think for awhile about the blatant parallel themes found in InuYasha, and then try reevaluating InuKag's dynamic.

Now, I should clarify: I think the InuYasha series already makes it abundantly self-evident that the Inu/Kag/Kik "triangle" (🙄) is a complex situation that puts InuYasha in an extremely difficult position. (Well, it puts all of them in a difficult position, but you get the idea.) You just have to read the series with your brain on to see that. To review: teenage boy is tricked and terrorized by a demonic murderer; that demon successfully murders the boy's ex while masquerading as him; later his ex is revived from the dead against her will, wanders the earth as a vengeful spirit for awhile (who wouldn't be pissed about being brought back into that bullshit?), and is actively stalked by the demon who already murdered her once; teenage boy is falling in love with someone else when this happens, but he still wants to save his ex from being re-victimized by the demon who already brutally murdered her once. Anyone who sees that situation and describes it with a straight face as "InuYasha needs to make up his mind already" is probably never going to reconsider their assessment of InuYasha's character. They've already formed an opinion in defiance of the evidence. That ship done sailed.

But for some folks, I think experiencing the way Maison Ikkoku explores the same relationship themes—and particularly how it resolves those themes in the final chapters—could help them re-evaluate the emotional nuances in InuKag's relationship, and maybe help to re-contextualize the Inu/Kag/Kik conflict.

The parallels between Godai/Kyoko and InuYasha/Kagome are pretty obvious—Rumiko Takahashi consistently revisits this relationship dynamic in her work (it's present in Mao to a lesser extent). But I think Maison Ikkoku more directly confronts the emotional complexity of that dynamic. You can feel the difference in how RT more directly explores the messiness, complications, and pain of a) grieving a former relationship even while falling in love with someone else, and b) loving someone who is still tangled up in grieving their past. The InuYasha series obviously deals with those themes too, but Maison Ikkoku brings more focus and resolution to its exploration.

This may be for two reasons: 1) Maison Ikkoku had an older audience, as it was published in a seinen magazine geared for adult men between 18 - 40 years old, and 2) the relationship tension between Godai/Kyoko pretty much constitutes the main story of Maison Ikkoku; in InuYasha, the plot (such as it is) revolves around a vengeance quest and the monster of the week, and the relationship tensions between InuKag are second to that. Maybe that's why RT was more willing to get into the weeds with Godai/Kyoko and to more directly resolve the tension.

InuYasha does have some standout chapters where it explicitly deals with the tension of InuKag's situation (e.g., chapter 78, chapter 124, chapter 176, chapter 286, chapter 458, etc.), but there's this distinct hesitance in the narrative to resolve that tension in a substantive way. That's one of my beefs with the InuYasha series: it gives us moments of standout, concrete relationship development which then doesn't impact the future narrative all that much. The same relationship conflicts play out over and over again, well past their narrative expiration dates. See: Miroku flirting with women right in front of Sango after they've acknowledged feelings for each other; also the entire Kaō arc, which just... I do not understand the narrative purpose of that arc when it just exacerbates tensions that already existed and resolves none of them. Anyway. I digress.

You could argue this hesitance to permanently resolve relationship conflict comes from the episodic nature of InuYasha's storytelling. There's some truth to that, but that's not a satisfying explanation for why the main couple's relational status quo remains inert for the latter half of the series. Maison Ikkoku also does this to an extent—the "will they, won't they?" tension is strung along for as long as possible—but in general Maison Ikkoku does a better job of allowing relationship development to actually affect the narrative. Moments of emotional revelation and growth do change the relational status quo between Godai and Kyoko. They don't stay in quite the same relationship limbo that InuYasha and Kagome get stuck in for the latter half of the series. (It probably also helps that Maison Ikkoku is significantly shorter than InuYasha.)

All that to say: I think Godai/Kyoko is actually a useful mirror for examining InuKag, because they share the same themes and relationship dynamics without sharing the same narrative failings.

Okay, so: big time major spoilers ahead for Maison Ikkoku. Stop here if you don't want to see the conclusion of that series.

I want to look at how Maison Ikkoku's conclusion simultaneously revisits and resolves the main conflict between Godai/Kyoko.

Ahhhhhh my feelings!!! Man I love this series.

Okay, let's review the major takeaways from this scene:

• Notice how the tension between Godai and Kyoko—Godai's struggle with insecurity and Kyoko's feelings for her deceased husband—mirrors the tension between InuKag. And notice that the reader is encouraged to sympathize with both Godai and Kyoko. Godai is not "at fault" for struggling with insecurity and feelings of jealousy. That's a natural human feeling to have, especially in a relationship that hasn't been anywhere near secure until very recently. And despite whatever jealousy or inadequacy he may be feeling, Godai tries to see things from Kyoko's perspective. Part of Godai's struggle—the heartache of it—is his understanding that Kyoko is also not at fault. It's not her fault that she married before she ever met Godai, it's not her fault her husband died, and it's not her fault that she's struggling with the grief of that tragedy. She's trying to reorient herself to her new life after loss; she's falling in love with Godai, but she's also scared of betraying her husband's memory. (Let's hold that mirror up to InuYasha now, shall we? SHALL WE?) Moving on from Soichiro emotionally represents to Kyoko a breach of duty to a loved one.

• To reiterate: neither Godai nor Kyoko are "at fault" in this situation. That's precisely why it's a tragedy. They both have to process painful, messy feelings; both their feelings are valid and understandable. (Hold that mirror up to InuKag, girl. HOLD IT UP.)

• Notice how Godai explicitly acknowledges that loving Kyoko means loving the Kyoko who once loved Soichiro. "On the day I met Kyoko, you were already within her. That's the Kyoko I fell in love with." It's impossible to divorce Kyoko from her feelings for her former husband: that part of her life significantly shaped her into who she is. And I just love that Godai is hashing out his feelings at Soichiro's grave: it shows a sort of respect for Soichiro's memory, but more importantly it also shows that Godai knows his negative feelings can't ultimately be "fixed" by Kyoko. If she could fix them, he'd be having this conversation with her. (And by this point in the series they have had this conversation.) But Godai knows he's the only one who can truly work through/resolve his insecurity—especially now, when Kyoko has already assured him that she loves him—and I love how the scene's setting subtly demonstrates that. Soichiro's ghost is haunting Godai's feelings, not Kyoko's, and Godai is trying to work through that with Soichiro himself. There's no love triangle to resolve here: what needs resolving is Godai's own feelings of inadequacy which no amount of assurance from Kyoko can ultimately "fix." This is his ghost to fight. (We get an echo of this kind of inner conflict in chapter 458 of InuYasha: Kagome directly wrestles with the "ghost" of Kikyo and struggles toward some resolution of her own insecurities.... Only for the Kaō arc to come along later and materially damage that resolution and character growth for no clear reason, BUT I DIGRESS.) And this scene shows that Godai wins that fight: he comes to understand that loving Kyoko has to include accepting her past. Kagome reaches a very similar understanding in chapters 175 and 176 of InuYasha.

• To reiterate: Maison Ikkoku's conclusion is not the resolution of a "love triangle." It's the resolution of a series-long conflict, which is completely different. In order for love triangles to work—to actually function as love triangles—two competing love interests have to be viable options. This is quite evidently not the case in Maison Ikkoku: Soichiro is dead at the start of the series. It's literally impossible for Kyoko to choose him in any meaningful way. RT blatantly acknowledges this early in the series when Kyoko's father-in-law tells her she has to live her life. I cannot stress enough how self-consciously the series is not about a love triangle between Godai/Kyoko/Soichiro. (Mitaka is another matter entirely, for a different post.) Rather, the series is about the damaging power of grief in our lives, the rocky and painfully non-linear journey to healing from that grief, and how messy, fraught, and ultimately profoundly beautiful it is to love another person for exactly who they are — past pain/trauma and all. (Please for the love of heaven hold that mirror up to InuKag.)

• No, you know what? I'm not leaving that at a parenthetical. I'm just gonna say it: exactly as Maison Ikkoku is not about a love triangle, InuYasha isn't either. For the same reasons as stated above, the Inu/Kag/Kik dynamic is not ultimately a love triangle because Kikyo is dead at the start of the series. And while her spirit is magically revived—in an altered/diminished form—she is still not truly alive. The story conspicuously communicates this: her body is literally created from decomposing bones and cannot sustain itself (she needs to consume souls—other deceased spirits—to remain animated), symbolically suggesting she is of the dead even as she walks among the living. This is a facsimile of life. RT is not subtle about this. Kikyo is a tragic and complex character whose arc can be interpreted in many ways, but I think it's fair to say that the series self-consciously represents her as a past which can't be recovered. The damage has been done. She is dead, time continues to move forward, and there's no reversing that. (That's, again, why it's a tragedy.) Even her resurrected body symbolically represents this reality via death imagery. Ergo, from the very start of the series—just as we see in Maison Ikkoku—Kikyo is not a truly viable option for InuYasha. He can't choose her in any meaningful way. To "choose" her would be to essentially choose death—abandonment of life—just as Kyoko choosing Soichiro would make her "a wife who hadn't died yet." Kikyo represents an irrecoverable past just as Soichiro does. And the main thematic trajectory of each series does not suggest that Kyoko/InuYasha should give up on life by choosing death — it suggests they should choose life. Godai and Kagome conspicuously represent life, the possibility of living into the future. (Kagome is literally from the future, that's how unsubtle RT is about this.)

(A quick aside while we're here: no, Kikyo's not being a viable option does nothing to diminish the sincerity of InuYasha's feelings for Kagome. Kagome is not a "second choice," for the love of God the series blatantly addresses that very thing many, many times—like it's right there y'all—and I have already written a long ass post about why Kagome's insecurity over InuYasha's feelings for her shouldn't be taken as gospel truth.)

So, rather than being an actual love triangle, I think the Inu/Kag/Kik dynamic is a complicated emotional landscape that explores the same themes Maison Ikkoku does: how grief and trauma affect our lives, how painful and messy it can be to heal from that grief, and that loving someone—choosing to take that mutual risk with them—means trusting that they mean it when they tell/show us they love us, and choosing to trust them more than our own insecurities.

It's just that Maison Ikkoku explores those themes a little better. 😅 Which is why I think it makes a good mirror for re-examining InuKag: all the same themes without all the narrative failings and missed opportunities. ✌🏼

#inuyasha #meta #maison ikkoku #parallels #inuyasha x kagome #godai x kyoko #PLEASE GO WATCH/READ MAISON IKKOKU #pure magic

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