BotI: The Raskolnikovian Anotsu

[labingi]

"The Raskolnikovian Anotsu"

I figured I should follow up my Makie essay with an Anotsu essay, probably the first of a series. Here, I'll argue that Anotsu is a spiritual cousin of Ivan Karamazov (The Brothers Karamazov) and Rodion Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment). These are all men whose passionately defended philosophy of defying traditional

Comments

[lanoyee]

This essay, too, is quite interesting, though I know neither of the works you have cited. You make a lot of points that I can wholeheartedly agree with. Honor is indeed one of Anotsu's big themes.

I look forward to seeing more meta! :D

[labingi]

Thanks for reading. I'm still puzzling out exactly what honor is to Anotsu. I think he is puzzling it out:) If you like stories with complex, multidimensional characters, I recommend The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. The Brothers K is simply one of the best books ever written.

[lanoyee]

Yeeeah. I think he does have a concept of honor he adheres to, though less in the "this is what honor is" sense than the "this and that specific thing are honorable or not" sense... if you know what I mean? Like, I'm not sure, and frankly I don't know him well enough to say whether, if asked to write down a definition, he could produce something congruent and clear-cut.

I think he does have a thinky side to him, but yes, he's still way more a doer than a thinker.

Maybe I'll try them out. :)

[labingi]

I think he does have a concept of honor he adheres to, though less in the "this is what honor is" sense than the "this and that specific thing are honorable or not" sense... if you know what I mean?

I think I do, and I think you're right. I would say (and I think this may be the same thing) that he has honorable instincts. All things being equal, he tends to do the honorable thing in any given instance, but he frequently subordinates those instincts to bad judgment calls in the name of the principles of the Itto-Ryu.