Anime summer 2014
The summer season is coming to an end, with about 1 week of finales left. The top hitters for this season were definitely Zankyou no Terror (serious thriller), Barakamon (cute introspective slice-of-life), Aldnoah Zero (action adventure with likeable characters) and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (pure comedy gold with a pinch of romance). As usual, I really like thinking and reading commentary/analysis about the shows I watch (probably should be reading more productive things, but eh, whatever). Zankyou no Terror in particular was very deep, thoughtful, and thrilling and tense at the same time. I read some really good analysis that I'll just leave here - its a bit long so you probably don't care to read it :) But definitely recommend those shows!
Zankyou can be described as a critique on the dichotomy between the old and the young. More specifically Zankyou can be thought of as a subtle polemic for the current state of Japanese society and the debate around its desired form. Importantly there are two key points here, both related and opposite sides of the same the coin: the nuke and the kids (Nine/Twelve, Five, and Lisa).
Firstly from the frank, almost lifeless description of Hiroshima and the references of 9/11 I think it can be argued that Watanabe is against nuclear weapons. The nuke here is simultaneously a representation of Japan’s past (and what some Japanese are harkening back towards) and one potential seed of its future. Because of how the nuke looks to be used (atmospheric blast) the desire may be to point out that whatever path Japan chooses, there is no going back (i.e. sending a message); if we were meant to take away the dangers of nuclear warfare it would be more likely for Sphinx to detonate it on the ground and to induce casualties, this is not what has been indicated so far in Zankyou. If anything Watanabe’s focus on nukes and imagery associated with their use (or potential use) is his way of indicating which side of the current domestic debate between nationalism and pacifism he falls on.
How Nine and Twelve (and therefore Five and Lisa) become linked to the debate surrounding the nuke through their use of the weapon. Here Watanabe is using Nine and Twelve to show that it is in the young where Japan’s future will be determined; the old may provide the tools, but it is up to their children to make use of them. Specifically from this point is the decision on the nationalism debate, it is the current generation of Japanese who will decide the issue, not their parents nor their grandparents (interestingly also a line of thought in some media sources concerning the issue too). Nine and Twelve are the personification of a decision many will have to make in the not too distant future, a decision concerning what they want their society and nation-state to be. Building off of this is the division between Nine/Twelve and Five (and now Nine and Twelve) and how it can relate to the divisions between the young. Five is the co-opted child, the one indoctrinated and firmly committed to following the preexisting order (in general, her actual motivations (i.e. gaming Five) have been superseded by her handler’s objectives). Nine and Twelve are the recalcitrant activists, the ones desiring change and who will act upon it. Delving further here yields two more key classes, the activist who fights for ideals (Twelve), and the activist who fights for more personal reasons (Nine). The latter of course drops out of the game when finding something better worth living for (i.e. Lisa), while the former will take his ideals to death (Twelve). For those asking what purpose Lisa serves, she is the representation of the vast amount of young (and people in general), the ones who aren’t activists and generally do not care, the countless unnamed in history who go along with change, whatever it may be.
Now to come full circle remember the Oedipus riddles from the beginning of the show? These riddles are what tie all these loose parts together. Oedipus was likely used because in addition to being a representation of fate and its inevitability, the trilogy can also be read as a moving out from the weight upon one’s shoulders. As Oedipus learned to forgive himself for his mistakes and surrender the burden placed upon him by fate so too do Nine and Twelve come to move out from weight of expectations, of responsibility, of the collective history leading up to that point. Oedipus is a reference to the need for Japan (specifically its youth) to throw off the burden of its history before finding the path that it in its current form wants to follow, not the path that history (i.e. the old) demand it does. Just like Nine and Twelve have made their choices, so to must Japan decide on just what future it wants for itself.
How next week’s episode ends may tell us which choice Watanabe hopes Japan will make.
The strength of Zankyou is in its references and imagery, the story is simply a vessel through which the author (i.e. Watanabe) is sending a message; the objective, beyond entertaining the viewer, is to get the viewer to see the forest for the trees. In this regard Zankyou ranks up with other shows like Serial Experiments Lain, Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, and to some degree Evangelion. How much value you get out of Zankyou therefore is likely to depend on how much you like piecing the messages of these types of shows together.
Man, what a great analysis of the show (more comments on randomc if interested).
Other amusing comment:
"The women in this series…. sigh"
Zankyou can be described as a critique on the dichotomy between the old and the young. More specifically Zankyou can be thought of as a subtle polemic for the current state of Japanese society and the debate around its desired form. Importantly there are two key points here, both related and opposite sides of the same the coin: the nuke and the kids (Nine/Twelve, Five, and Lisa).
Firstly from the frank, almost lifeless description of Hiroshima and the references of 9/11 I think it can be argued that Watanabe is against nuclear weapons. The nuke here is simultaneously a representation of Japan’s past (and what some Japanese are harkening back towards) and one potential seed of its future. Because of how the nuke looks to be used (atmospheric blast) the desire may be to point out that whatever path Japan chooses, there is no going back (i.e. sending a message); if we were meant to take away the dangers of nuclear warfare it would be more likely for Sphinx to detonate it on the ground and to induce casualties, this is not what has been indicated so far in Zankyou. If anything Watanabe’s focus on nukes and imagery associated with their use (or potential use) is his way of indicating which side of the current domestic debate between nationalism and pacifism he falls on.
How Nine and Twelve (and therefore Five and Lisa) become linked to the debate surrounding the nuke through their use of the weapon. Here Watanabe is using Nine and Twelve to show that it is in the young where Japan’s future will be determined; the old may provide the tools, but it is up to their children to make use of them. Specifically from this point is the decision on the nationalism debate, it is the current generation of Japanese who will decide the issue, not their parents nor their grandparents (interestingly also a line of thought in some media sources concerning the issue too). Nine and Twelve are the personification of a decision many will have to make in the not too distant future, a decision concerning what they want their society and nation-state to be. Building off of this is the division between Nine/Twelve and Five (and now Nine and Twelve) and how it can relate to the divisions between the young. Five is the co-opted child, the one indoctrinated and firmly committed to following the preexisting order (in general, her actual motivations (i.e. gaming Five) have been superseded by her handler’s objectives). Nine and Twelve are the recalcitrant activists, the ones desiring change and who will act upon it. Delving further here yields two more key classes, the activist who fights for ideals (Twelve), and the activist who fights for more personal reasons (Nine). The latter of course drops out of the game when finding something better worth living for (i.e. Lisa), while the former will take his ideals to death (Twelve). For those asking what purpose Lisa serves, she is the representation of the vast amount of young (and people in general), the ones who aren’t activists and generally do not care, the countless unnamed in history who go along with change, whatever it may be.
Now to come full circle remember the Oedipus riddles from the beginning of the show? These riddles are what tie all these loose parts together. Oedipus was likely used because in addition to being a representation of fate and its inevitability, the trilogy can also be read as a moving out from the weight upon one’s shoulders. As Oedipus learned to forgive himself for his mistakes and surrender the burden placed upon him by fate so too do Nine and Twelve come to move out from weight of expectations, of responsibility, of the collective history leading up to that point. Oedipus is a reference to the need for Japan (specifically its youth) to throw off the burden of its history before finding the path that it in its current form wants to follow, not the path that history (i.e. the old) demand it does. Just like Nine and Twelve have made their choices, so to must Japan decide on just what future it wants for itself.
How next week’s episode ends may tell us which choice Watanabe hopes Japan will make.
The strength of Zankyou is in its references and imagery, the story is simply a vessel through which the author (i.e. Watanabe) is sending a message; the objective, beyond entertaining the viewer, is to get the viewer to see the forest for the trees. In this regard Zankyou ranks up with other shows like Serial Experiments Lain, Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, and to some degree Evangelion. How much value you get out of Zankyou therefore is likely to depend on how much you like piecing the messages of these types of shows together.
Man, what a great analysis of the show (more comments on randomc if interested).
Other amusing comment:
"The women in this series…. sigh"