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Final Dissertation -

A STUDY ON THE GENRE OF BODY HORROR, FOCUSING ON THE CULTURAL INFLUENCES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

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INTRODUCTION

“Horror entwines spectacle and reality in an indeterminate scene of effects and affects that, further, engage and repulse audiences in the staging of often overwhelming and unbearable images.” (Bottling, 2011)

For as long as people have spoken, stories have been told and as long as stories have been told so have cautionary tales. Horror is a genre that has dates back to first being documented in the 18th century and as our ability to tell and show stories have developed, so has the genre of horror as a whole.

The Oxford dictionary describes the genre of horror as one that is concerned with arousing feelings of horror…. fear, shock, or disgust, (Oxford Living Dictionary, 2017), while author Rick Worland states that horror ‘achieves its greatest impact when it exposes or flaunts cultural taboos’ and ‘aims foremost to scare us’. The genre of horror ‘evokes deeper, more personal psychological fears in the starkest terms’, despite other genres, with examples of ‘a war story, disaster movie, or crime drama’, also invoking powerful emotions to affect the audience. (Worland, 2007, p.3-7). If any form of media, whether it be film, animation, short story, or prose, that intends to frighten or unnerve its audience can be classed as a part or in a way a family member of the horror genre. J. A. Cuddon described horror stories as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". (Cuddon, 1992, p.11)

Many horror films focus on mythical beings such as ghosts, monsters, vampires, cryptids and beings from mythological backgrounds, and the overall genre of horror can branch into many subgenres, such as Found Footage, ESP/Psychic Horror, Psychological horror, Sci-Fi Horror and even Comedy-Horror, but this dissertation will focus on Body Horror. Body Horror is a subgenre of the horror genre - while horror as a whole can contain aspects of gore, monsters, mutation and such, Body Horror focuses on the human body forcibly being mutated, mutilated and manipulated to grotesque proportions to unnerve the audience and, specifically, to make them uncomfortable. Many forms of body horror film utilize both visual and computerized special effects to ensure the audience remains disgusted and intrigued.

The adaptation of ‘the primal scene, the scene of birth’ is one of the key aspects in sci-fi horror, and while this is true in the genre of sci-fi, it is also true for the subgenre of body horror; the tissue is being formed, or reformed, created from either nothing or from something familiar, fleshy, obscure but altogether something human, but not entirely (Creed, p.17). A rapid expansion of flesh or slow mutation of cells is the central part of any body-horror film, and the theme of being reborn or made into something new is a constant cliché of these films.

In the Western world, perhaps the most prominent and important filmmaker in the subgenre of body horror is David Cronenberg, director of cult classic body horrors The Fly (1986), Videodrome (1983), Dead Ringers (1988), and Shivers (1975). His usage of repulsive physical effects and the device of building tension throughout his films has concreted his status as one of the greatest body horror auteurs. Meanwhile one of the most popular and prominent body-horror movies from the east is Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira (1988), an animated movie that gained a cult status and mass following due to its creative style and graphic content. Written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, the film is based on Otomo's manga of the same name which was originally a series in Shonen Jump Magazine. The film focuses mainly on the first half of the story in the manga, with an alternate ending, yet is famed for its intriguing imagery and fluid animation style. Akira went on to inspire multiple significant films, including other body horror flicks such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man.

The first chapter of this dissertation will show and explore cultural between the east and west and the ways in which film and animation shows the themes of the body and the mutation of such within the genre of horror. The inspiration for horror movies often stem from cultural fears, experiences and influences and so the first chapter will define the specific fears that divide the East and West and how films have adapted and become microcosms of individual societies.

The second chapter will outline the aspects of Cronenbergs works that highlight the popular tropes of the genre and explore what makes his films so poignant and effective within the overall genre of horror, and what specifically makes his works focus on the body.

The final chapter will explore the film Akira, specifically, one of the strongest contenders of the title of most influential movies of our generation, animated or otherwise, and the techniques used to push this feature film from an animation adaption film into a body-horror classic.

CHAPTER 1:

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND INFLUENCES BETWEEN THE HORROR FILMS OF JAPAN AND AMERICA

“There are two different stories in horror: internal and external. In external horror films, the evil comes from the outside, the other tribe, this thing in the darkness that we don't understand. Internal is the human heart.”

- John Carpenter, (2011)

“I think of horror films as art, as films of confrontation. Films that make you confront aspects of your own life that are difficult to face. Just because you're making a horror film doesn't mean you can't make an artful film."

- David Cronenberg (1997)

While West and East, specifically the U.S and Japan, separately have different views on horror, individual areas have their own views.

Wetmore describes horror as a genre that “concerns the fears and anxieties of the society that produced it,” (Wetmore, 2008, p48), meaning that a society creates film, books, and all kinds of media as a microcosm of the issues surrounding the creating society. For example, a society fearful of starvation may create a piece of media about a character struggling to survive in a desert. Thus we need to examine cultural differences between the U.S and Japan in relation to the genre of horror in order to understand how they produce and show differences in body horror.

Eastern parts of Asia often use folklore and religious traditions for tales, including creatures with the ability to transform; most famously the Japanese kitsune or Chinese huli jing that are traditionally wise and compassionate, whereas the Korea foxes in folklore are traditionally malevolent and cunning, going as far as to devouring human organs to achieve power and become human itself (Perise and Martin, 2013, p35).

Korean horror film focuses on the wonhon, a 'cliché of Asian horror films' (Perise and Martin, 2013, p23). The wonhon is a female spirit, trapped within our realm that aims to seek revenge on the typically masculine figures that wronged her in life. This trend was prominent in the 1960s, when 'film uses the female body as a metaphor for a nation that suffers from repressive expectations about gender, sexuality and the family' (ib33). Her appearance is based on purity and confliction; a white gown to symbolise ‘the chastity of a widow’ and a link between the realms of living and dead while having bedraggled, uncontrollable long hair which signifies a rejection of Confucian customs as well as adding to the sinister overall look of the spirit. During the time period of the 1960s in general, Korean cinema was heavily informed by its traditional views of socially acceptable behaviour; purity and having an untainted body were the ultimate conditions of marriage, while infertility, jealousy, adultery and corruptibility were ‘fatal attributes’. Utmost purity and righteousness was quintessential in Korean horror tales, and while the body may not be a paramount aspect of this subgenre of horror, the underlying feeling of purity versus impurity still makes the body an important part of this cliché (Perise and Martin, 2013, p24). The wonhon is very similar to the Japanese trend of angered spirits called kaidan, which is further discussed later in this dissertation.

Many American films, like European horror films, are able to be traced back to folklore, short stories from the times of Gothic fiction, true stories of crimes and witness reports of supernatural beings and occurrences. Some examples, including the works of Edgar Allan Poe, have been re-imagined and shown in different mediums since their first publications. Some examples of these adaptions include readings from famous horror stars (Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and James Earl Jones being the most prominent examples of readings of The Raven), film and television adaptations and even a comic book form. This may possibly show that despite the original source materials and texts being over a century old, American audiences still appreciate the slow build of tension. Some examples of 'true' stories being adapted into popular film include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper, 1974), which is very roughly based on the Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, The Girl Next Door (Wilson, 2007), which is loosely inspired by the death of Sylvia Likens, Wes Cravens The Hills Have Eyes (1977) which is instilled by the legend of Alexander 'Sawney' Bean, and David Cronenbergs Dead Ringers (1988), a film influenced by the discovery of the dead and decomposing bodies of 45-year-old twin gynaecologists.

Valerie Wee describes American cinema as historically seen as an 'extension of photography’, as 'a new way of taking pictures', where photography was a way of capturing and representing lifelike familiarities (a trend which body-horror frequently embraces, the sensation of mixing familiar and too familiar to create discomfort), and so classic Hollywood cinema, leading from silent films, embraced this, creating a protagonist that focuses on getting to a singular goal with a cause-and-effect style of storytelling to create a 'neat narrative closure'. Around the 1960s and continuing into the 70s, movies began to embrace a more ambiguous feel, open endings where hints of humanities fallings linger in the distance or its efforts to eradicate a creature of evil endures, possibly unlikeable protagonists to challenge audiences and minimal plot developments; this shift may be a reflection of 'cultural paranoia' and It possibly could also be inferred as part of a larger affinity with Western cinemas habit of implementing foreign films' ethos as 'the New American Cinema movement' begins towards the 1970s. (Wee, 2011, p53)

However many American horror films can be traced to European and Japanese cinema, adaptations and tweaks on Eastern and European stories and films are surprisingly prominent in mainstream media. Some may argue that America homogenizes cultures into part of its own; as a society it frequently takes desirable sections of other cultures and adapts it to shape to fit into their way of thinking. Historically this idea is hard to argue with; taking the land from Native Americans, introducing slavery and the adaptation of cultural aspects that non-American born immigrants bring to the country as examples of ways the USA has taken aspects of alternate nations.

Examples of the homogenization of Eastern cinema by include The Ring, adapted from the Japanese horror Ringu (1998), The Grudge (2004) which was adapted from Ju-on (2002), and even several American remakes of Gojira (1954), turning it into the famous Godzilla along with several reboots and sequels over time.

This leads into films from Japan specifically. 'Often based on kabuki stage pieces,' (Newman,1996), Japanese horror is an important cultural presence with the genre and its global significance is far-reaching. Japanese horror movies generally fell into two dominant genres: ghost stories or 'kaidan', "dominated by the onryou (avenging spirit) motif", and the disaster movie” (McRoy, 2008, 6), populated by monstrosities named ‘kaiju’ intent on destroying Tokyo and other large cities within Japan. When considering Japanese Horror movies, or J-Horror as it is often referred to, a western audience often imagines movies such as Ringu and Ju-on, due to their identifiability and very Eastern style – ‘The revenge of the female ghost is a cliché of Asian horror films. (With a) female ghost in a white gown with long black hair’. (Perise and Martin, 2013, 23). This is a parallel to Korea’s wonhon. The kaidan is a ‘flexible trope’ in Japanese horror, but typically a female entity focused on exacting revenge on a living person after being wronged. The popularity of the kaidan may be the result of the emergence of more and more women becoming single parents and active members of Japans workforce as Japan has become more industrialised. (McRoy, 2008, 11) Cinema is an outlet for people; we produce media content that represent our needs and fears and so we create movies that mirror the society and culture of the nation that produces them. Japan was aware of women changing roles within society and so used this as fuel to create a new branch in the horror medium.

Nevertheless the monster movies became famous with the creation of Gojira in 1954, nine years after the nuclear bombings on Japan.

In 1945, the USA dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. The destruction and devastation of the fallout clearly impacted Eastern culture, shown through the medium of film; Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Lucky Dragon No. 5 (1959), and, most famously, Gojira (1954) are just three examples of Japanese films showing the devastating effects of nuclear fallout in one form or another. Gojira is a prominent film in film history, Asian or otherwise, which arguably can be due to the destructive undertones. The Kaiju is awoken by H-bomb tests in the beginning of the movie, its footprint is monitored for intense radioactivity and newscasters repeatedly call Gojiras ability to breath radioactive fiery breath a 'sea of flames', recalling Nagasaki and Hiroshima. (Brothers, 2011) Gojira is a metaphor for the Fat Man and Little Boy bombs, annihilating all structure within Tokyo and having no regard for human life. McRoy describes the relationship between the bombings and the creation of the kaiju as a “devastating incident followed by decades of exposure to US military exercises and atomic tests in the Pacific, these mutated monstrosities aquatic and aerial assaults seem only appropriate,” and Susan J. Napier describes Japanese stories as “often reveal(ing) a much bleaker world view that such western fantasies as star trek or even Terminator". (Napier, 2005, 90, McRoy, 2008, 7)

This leads into one of the catalysts for the body horror genre; causing horrific mutations, monstrous entities and graphic imagery is nuclear fallout and radiation. The Toxic Avenger (and its sequels) is one of the most prolific examples of radioactive interference in the body horror genre, but there are others including The Incredible Melting Man (1977), the Fallout video game series (1997-present) and Spontaneous Combustion (1990).

Tropes of radiation and nuclear activity continue throughout Japan’s history, from small nods to more direct referencing. For example, the popular Mega-Man (1987 - present) franchise of Japanese video games has Dr Wily as its main antagonist, a character who creates machines of destruction and whose appearance is based on Albert Einstein; Einstein’s theories led to discovery and creation and nuclear energy and then weaponry and so it can be argued that he, through association, lead to the Japan bombings and can be seen as a villainous character.

Akira itself can be seen as a metaphor for the bombings, though not an entirely subtle one; the manga and animated movie, (the movie opening with an enormous, all-consuming blast of energy,) are both set in a post-apocalyptic futuristic Neo-Tokyo where the central characters are parentless adolescents fighting for a purpose. Tetsuo, while a member of the gang, is still a low member of the pecking order and feels like he cannot achieve anything purposeful as he has limited potential and a lack of education and structure besides that of the films prominent street gangs. Tetsuo could be a metaphor for children of the bombings struggling to survive in the fallout post-war.

In the manga, the vaporizing of 1980s Tokyo by the first psychic bomb spurred reconstruction and urban development; by the twenty-first century, Neo-Tokyo has been rebuilt on a vaster scale around the Akira bomb crater, a massive urban sprawl circling an empty center (just as the Tokyo destroyed with firebombs in 1945 had emerged from its ashes on a vaster scale by 1983, and just as Hiroshima and Nagasaki were reconstructed after the atomic bombs). Thus Akira inexorably links nuclear destruction and economic reconstruction.

- Lamarre, 2008, 136

Tetsuo’s eventual mutation into a fleshy, grotesque mass may also be a representation of the effects of nuclear fallout. While radiation sickness does not tend to induce growths or mutations shown in popular media form and instead cause illnesses including infertility, blood disorders, tissue damage from heat and a heightened rate of cancer, the rapid and graphic explosion of Tetsuo’s flesh in the final scenes of Akira may be an exaggerated representation of the gratuitous devastation nuclear destruction has caused. While “his monstrous transformation occurs because of his rampant desire” in the manga and film, he Tetsuo may be a representation of the trauma that occurs when ‘rampant desire’ from hostile countries cause. (Miller, 2008, 145-166)

However, East and West view nuclear powers and its attributes extremely differently from a cultural perspective.

The U.S has different views on nuclear activity in cinema compared to Japan, however, particularly the horror film. It appears that the United States did not receive any negative back-lash from the bombings, and so while Japan sees nuclear devices as weapons that devastate and decimate innocent lives, America used them as a pre-emptive liberator, a means of keeping an enemy away and glorifying their military might. The USA didn’t experience any of the nuclear fallout or destruction from the bombings on Japan, only a sense of superiority; hence their viewpoint of nuclear radiation is one of positivity rather than desolation.

The aforementioned Toxic Avenger is a prime example of nuclear energy (radioactive waste in this case) mutating and transforming the protagonist into a super-human character. Famous comic-book and film characters originating from U.S sources often have nuclear energy and/or radiation as a positive part of their back-story and reinforce of identity; the Hulk, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Fantastic Four, Spider-man, the Battletoads, Superman and many of the X-men characters are revered as popular and famous heroes to an American audience and feature nuclear radiation, and many of these characters have multiple back stories, reincarnations and reimaginings to keep them appealing to a younger audience in a possible attempt to reinforce the idea to children and impressionable Americans that nuclear involvement and radioactivity has multiple benefits. This is a clear example of America homogenising the history of nuclear power into positive stories and culture. Winkler describes a ‘wave of enthusiasm’ rippling through the United States after the Hiroshima bombing that was only ‘periodically’ tainted by discomfort at the thought of the destructive potential of the bombs. While this may be due to the fact officials and policymakers chose only to release specific information and highlighted the positive aspects concerning nuclear weaponry, Americans believed the bombs' role was one of benefit to the U.S., especially as President Truman reinforced the idea that the atomic blast was one that ‘had to be used to end the unnecessary slaughter on both sides.’. Winkler confirms this in saying that despite the ‘carnage’ caused by the bombs dropping, it was ‘justified in the end’ when comparing the lives of Americans saved. (Winkler, 1993, 25-27)

To some extent, some may argue that David Cronenberg's character Seth Brundle from The Fly mutates through radiation. However, in this instance the radiation acts as a double-edged sword; Brundle experiences superhuman strength, agility and feelings of euphoria, but this quickly descends into feelings of addiction and rapid deterioration. Perhaps this is a nod by Cronenberg to show that he does recognise how negative radiation impacts on individuals and is a way of de-glorifying the stigma of nuclear activity.

It’s very possible that while the nuclear bombings, as the most gratuitous and devastating attack in Japanese history, led into inspiring a series of horror movies, terrorism of the U.S has also had an impact on cinema. The infamous attack of 9/11could be seen to perpetuate a series of American horror films revolving around themes of gory ‘torture and imprisonment’ such as the Saw series (2004-present), The Purge series (2013-2016), Hostel (2005) and The Human Centipede (2009), where audiences view characters subjected to ‘physical’ and ‘psychological torture’. US cinema reflects the fear or terrorism, especially in films showing depictions of claustrophobia, faceless malevolent entities and the feeling of being trapped to reflect the effect 9/11 had. This is not to mention the slew of 'dystopian future' set films, video games and novels that contain corrupt or non-existent governmental societies, a possible vision of fear from a society that wants security and sustainability.

“After 9/11, nihilism, despair, random violence and death, combined with tropes and images generated by the terrorist attacks began to assume far greater prominence in horror cinema,” States Wetmore (Wetmore 2008, 72-82). He goes on to describe that typically in American disaster, action and horror movies that New York is seen as “‘ground zero’, a term usually associated with nuclear destruction.” While the 9/11 attacks did not destroy the entirety of New York the way the bombings destroyed entire cities in Japan, the imagery of destruction of the 11th of September is all-too familiar – ‘deserted streets, and conversely larger crowds fleeing, combined with grey ash, dust and debris covering everything and everyone’ was the overriding image of New York as a destroyed city flooded with catastrophic ruin. ‘Ground Zero’ is a term used to specify ‘the heart of an attack’ and the heart of New York was truly shaken by these attacks. While previously Los Angeles was the ‘preferred’ city to face destruction in cinematography, this changed rapidly after the turning of the millennium - New York had always been a familiar setting within film, including horror, Wetmore states that ‘9/11 made it the site of horror’, which is a very concrete statement when regarding the films produced since. (2012, ps.3 and 24)

Even Gojira made its way to New York, when the 2014 remake was released; while the main introductory setting of the film is Janjira, Japan, (a possible homage to the original source material), we also have scenes of San Francisco, California where civilians are evacuated, the Golden Gate Bridge is decimated and the threat of a nuclear warhead violently detonating hangs over the city. It could be argued that this is the USA reshaping and familiarising the trauma of the nuclear blasts of Japan with America; perhaps the shift from New York to San Francisco was to avoid the reality of the destruction of a famous landmark reminiscent of the 9/11 attacks being all-too familiar.

Post-9/11 United States and post-bombed Japan are both in periods of cultural adaptation and transition, coping with the emotional, sociological and psychological trauma that both events caused the nations by using cinema as an emotional outlet and a way of coming to terms with “the irrational, the horrific, the uncanny, and the issues with which we are most concerned in the post-industrial era: family, the economy, identity, terrorism, etc.” (Wetmore 2008, 73) American adaptations of Japanese (and other cultures) horror films monopolize on the familiarity and creativity of the original idea but adjust the narrative, techniques and style of the original concept to best represent American ideals and fulfil the sociological needs of the post-9/11 USA audience.

Wee describes how J-horror shifts slowly away from its traditional views of genre; the movies involving kaidan ghost maidens motivated by vengeance, anger and a need to punish their wrong-doers in life slowly amalgamated into movies such as Toshiharu Ikeda's Evil Dead Trap (1988), Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Red Room (1999), House (1977) and Jigoku (1960). These films shift from the 'familiar, iconic images and conventions' that originate from the tropes and settings from theatrical stage performances and classical influences from contemporary Japan and instead embracing the more Western tropes of gore, entrapment and confined spaces. It may be that while American film is adapting aspects of Asian film and J-Horror into a conglomeration of culture, perhaps in its own way, J-Horror is slowly doing the same through adapting aspects of Western-centric movies rather than full on adapting entire films -

(Ringu) also reveals the influence of the Hollywood horror tradition, perhaps most clearly in the visual and narrative borrowings in the film's opening sequence and in the inclusion of narrative developments that privilege the female survivor and the enduring power of the monster.

- Wee, 2013, 97

- while McRoy iterates that J-Horror of the 1980s ‘was painted in bright streaks of red, spurting from gashing wounds and blood-spouting intestinal spillings’ that was an extreme contrast to the movies that took over in the 1990s where horror was more subdued yet ominous with ’young women simply standing there with hair hanging over their face.’ This may be a metaphor for the transition in radioactive presence in society (McRoy, 2008, 9).

Nuclear activity in a military sense has diminished over time. The ‘gashing wounds’ and ‘spillings’ McRoy describes above could signify the outright casualties of the World War II bombings, of the heavily wounded and permanently disfigured survivors and ‘bright streaks of red’ a visceral reminder of the death and destruction overall. The 1990s ‘young women’ could possibly be a representation of innocent lives ruined by the devastation of the attacks, but their anger is now subdued, dulled by time. (Wee, 2011, 59). The horror of the nuclear attacks is still there, still fresh, but subtle and perhaps not as prominent as it once was. A dull buzz that is still a part of day-to-day life, but no longer an open wound, but instead a fading scar.

CHAPTER 2:

THE WORKS OF DAVID CRONENBERG AND HOW THEY HAVE INFLUENCED AND IMPACTED THE GENRE OF BODY HORROR

“The redundancy of flesh, he thinks, the helplessness of meat, how can we conjure spirit from a bone?” ― Ian McGuire, The North Water

David Cronenbergs films are some of the most widespread and symbolic in the genre of body horror.

Hawker calls Cronenberg a 'body artist', a 'visceral and cerebral filmmaker' who can utilize the body 'in all its sticky, treacherous, terrifying complexity, with its vulnerabilities, drives and tendency towards transformation'. She goes on to call The Fly ' a soulful yet grotesque vision' and states that Cronenberg creates 'provocative challenges to the status quo' to intice and shock his audience. (Hawker, 2017)

One of the aspects that ensured the popularity and timelessness of his work is the usage of physical and practical effects in lieu of special and computer generated effects.

Some of the earliest examples of horror movies using practical effects include The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Frankenstein (1931), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and Gojira (1954), where make-up, crude stop-frame animatronics and foam suits were essential in creating deformed monsters and on-screen beasts. As time went on, however, practical effects advanced alongside horror movies - as the 1970s emerged The Exorcist (1973) and Alien (1979) became two classic films that feature incredibly impressive physical effects that are unparalleled to this day. Special make-up effect artist Dick Smith, known as “The Godfather of Makeup”, achieved masterful effects by overlapping foam latex to ensure actors to have a full range of facial expressions and created Reagan's (Linda Blair's) neon green projectile vomit by creating a system of tubes that fitted into her prosthetic cheeks. Stan Winston learnt his craft from Smith and directed Alien, where sheep and cow innards were used to replicate human organs in the infamous chest-burster scene while the alien spawn was a puppet. The use of fake blood and puppetry using hosing was a concept entirely unknown to the cast and so the hysterical response of actress Veronica Cartwright was entirely honest. (Barnes, 2014)

Some modern day horrors, while still having computer-generated effects present, incorporate practical effects as an homage to the classics of the past and to emulate the too-close-to-real-life feel that many (such as animator and illustrator Nick Criscuolo) argue CG cannot quite give. Criscuolo explains that 'practical effects have the advantage in being made from real things' and so one of the only downfalls with using practical effects is using the correct materials, explaining that the effects can look false if used by 'the wrong thing pretending to be something else' while acknowledging that while computer-generated animation and effects in film can look very polished and perfect, it has to 'not only does it have to look realistic, it also has to look as though it belongs in the scene' which can be where computer generated effects can seem subpar to well-made practical effects (Criscuolo, 2012)

Todd Masters, who also learnt his trade from the aforementioned Smith, worked on the physical effects of Slither (Directed by James Gunn, 2006), a body horror revolving around an average man becoming infected and then controlled by an alien parasite that slowly and gorily transmorphs him into a fleshy puddle of tentacles and gooey appendages' in a style incredibly reminiscent of the work of Chris Walas, the effects supervisor on Cronenbergs The Fly and Naked Lunch (1991).

It could be incredibly plausible that Gunn took inspiration from Cronenbergs work, particularly The Fly; both films feature the main character, (Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle and Michael Rooker as Grant Grant) mutating slowly over each passing scene into a non-human, or rather part-human, entity as Brundles DNA is replaced with that of the titular Flys and Grant being slowly eaten from the inside out by the sentient extraterrestrial within him. Both characters start their mutation with feelings of positivity: increased appetite, sexual vigour and athletic capabilities. However as time passes their flesh starts to reflect the decline of their humanity as growths form over their bodies and their skin decays rapidly after initially appearing sallow or inflamed. Both characters tear themselves away from the female lead (Geena Davis as Veronica and Elizabeth Banks as Starla in The Fly and Slither respectively) in favour of an alternate woman in order to instil the same rush of positivity into the alternate female. This is shown as Brundle (or Brundlefly) has a sexual encounter with Tawny (Joy Boushel) and then proceeds to try and force her into undergoing the same transformation as him before being stopped by Veronica and Grant lures in Brenda (played by Brenda James) with the intent to have sex with her, only to forcibly impregnate her with alien parasites which cause her to mutate also. Eventually both protagonists-turned-antagonists mutate beyond their control and become more alien entity than human.

The usage of practical effects in both of these movies have concreted their statuses of cult-classics; the usage of foam and latex reminiscent of flesh and muscle and food substances for bodily fluids (Brundleflys vomit consisted of honey, egg and milk) have aided in giving these movies (and other cinematic pieces using practical effects) a timeless quality, in comparison to using digitally animated effects that arguably can look dated and less believable as time passes.

A good example of CG having less impact than practical effects is the body horror film The Lawnmower Man (Brett Leonard, 1992). While Stephen Kings The Lawnmower man is a body horror revolving around the usage of technology to manipulate the brain and body (and so the usage of computer generated effects are entirely justified and make sense), it follows similar trends to Cronenbergs The Fly, as Slither does. Jobe (Jeff Fahey) undergoes experimental treatment by using computer-generated virtual reality to become more intelligent and the movie follows the pattern that Cronenbergs The Fly lays out perfectly; Jobes experimentation is initially successful and he becomes more intellectual and experiences sensations of increased confidence, athletic capability and becoming sexually active. However, as time passes his abilities become more aggressive and he becomes obsessed with using virtual reality to increase his grasp on his newfound telekinetic and pyrokinetic powers, similar to Brundles obsession with his own developing mutations.

The original The Fly (Kurt Neumann, 1958) used practical effects. A small animatronic figure with a moving head and arm was used for actors Vincent Price and Herbert Marshall, spider-webbing was creating from superglue being strung from pieces of wood and a mask made of latex sponge pieces, beads and metallic framework created the head of the titular Fly (Biodrowski, 2007). It is an interesting point of discussion that in the original The Fly, it is only the head of Andre Delambre (David Hedison credited as Al Hedison) that is altered, possibly due to technological and restrictions of the time period, whereas Cronenberg alters the entirety of Goldblums body in his remake. It could be argued that this is a sign of the audience developing to expect more from horror movies, to want to see more visceral action rather than the more subtle horrors history has given them.

While The Fly, as one of Cronenbergs most prolific pieces, has been the main portion of this discussion so far, it is notable that Cronenbergs other works follow a familiar method.

Dead Ringers, Cronenbergs 1988 film about twin gynaecologists, shows throughout the theme of the body being something whole and human despite its flaws, eating and being sexually active as normal and natural occurrences, and while a mutation doesn't occur to manipulate the protagonists outlook drugs do alter the mindset of Beverly, played by Jeremy Irons. Beverly has nightmares of his body being physically conjoined to that of his identical twin, Elliot (played also by Irons). The connection is a fleshy grown extending from twin navels, and is severed by a bite by their bed mate Claire (Geneviève Bujold) which results in Beverly to wake up screaming, frantic, before taking more prescription drugs. ' Shaw explains that the 'dream is an obvious embodiment of Beverly's fears of being separated from Elliot', and goes on to explain that if we follow the Freudian theory that dreams are expressions of desire that there is a possibility that subconsciously Beverley wishes to be forcibly separated from his brother. (Shaw, 1996)

As Beverly continues to take more mind-altering drugs, more visions of bodily harm appear to the point where Beverly has metallic gynaecological tools created to inspect women's bodies that he deems 'mutated', claiming that "the patients are getting strange. They look alright on the outside, but their insides...they're deformed." showing how altered his view of reality is. As his reliance on drugs grow and his brothers attempts to sober Beverly fail, we see this movie become more of a psychological horror with body horror elements rather than a body horror with psychological elements.

As both twins become drugged and despondent, however, they attempt to 'separate' themselves using the aforementioned gynaecological tools in a scene that cements Dead Ringers firmly in the body horror genre. Beverly traces his hand over Elliots stomach before carving into it with the sharpest of the tools, claiming that "separation can be a terrifying thing." We see Elliot die before Beverly plunges the tool in further with a resounding 'squish', the entire scene more subtle and playing on the viewers senses and fears rather than outright gore (initially).

Despite the scenes almost spontaneous nature, the clinical feel created by Beverly's preparation and medical tools plays on needle and doctor phobias, separate Dead Ringers from The Fly, which has a more monstrous out-of-control feeling

As Beverly awakes sometime later, confused and disconsolate, he repeated Elliots nickname continuously while refusing to look at the almost autopsied body of his brother that lays prominent in the background. Beverly redresses, the act seeming sinister and a juxtaposition to the procedure just witnessed, and yet the aforementioned clinical feel withstands, as perhaps Beverly is given a moment of clarity enough to control his body in a 'normal' way. He attempts to all Claire, who asks "Who is this?” which has been an overarching theme throughout Dead Ringers; the concept of unknowing whether the twins who they say they are, or even if Beverly knows who he is anymore. He walks back to his brother in a zombie-like state, catatonic, as panning shots of the bloodied needles and tools are shown. His confused and vacant mind leads him to lay against his brother’s body and the pair are reunited in death. (Cronenberg, 1988)

It is a credit to Cronenberg in that despite following similar methods of the mind and body declining together, the physical and mental aspects connected just as the twins in Dead Ringers are, that in each of his films there is a unique spin on what triggers the initial downfall of his characters. The decline of mind and body and connected entities together is a theme throughout Cronenbergs work that has extended to be a part in almost all pieces of the body-horror genre; it is hard to name a piece of fiction in the genre that does not follow the ideology of the mind and body being connected as that as one deteriorates, mutates or is manipulated, the other follows in some form.

CHAPTER 3:

AKIRA AND TETSUO; AKIRAS INFLUENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL IMPACT IN COMPARISON TO FLESH

“Japanese medical people are traditionally very strange and creepily poetic.”

― David Cronenberg, Consumed

"I see technology as being an extension of the human body."

- David Cronenberg, Cronenberg on Cronenberg

Katsuhiro Otomos Akira was released in 1988 as an adaption of the popular series published in Weekly Young Jump Magazine under the same name that ran from 1982 to 1990. While the film differs greatly from its original source material in terms of character development and its ending point, the theme of the body mutating is prevalent in both the manga and animated movie. Napier describes anime as a genre that often focuses on the process of bodily change, ‘from cyborgs to superheroes on the positive side, and from mutants to monsters on the negative,’ (Napier, 2005, 37)

Akira revolutionised the way the world viewed eastern animation and became known as the cinematic adaptation that inspired visual effects and animation in many films. Some films influenced by Akira and its content include the Dragonball Z series (1989) with the characters ‘powering-up’ by yelling and manipulating the landscape around them, The Matrix (1999) with Neo dodging bullets and using his mind as a weapon, Parasyte (2014) which is a series revolving around body-snatching creature that mutate the body into fleshy weapons and even television series Stranger Things (2016), a series involving a young child learning to control telekinetic abilities. Marvels release of Akira even became the first Japanese manga to be translated into English and released in the west and is widely renowned as the film that caused manga and anime to become popular in the west. (Christmas, 2015)

Akira is animated on ones (meaning it is animated at 24 frames per second, rather than the standard 12 frames per second. This leads to the final animation being incredibly fluid,) and utilizes the entirety of the characters faces, techniques rarely used in eastern animation due to how much time animating would take This is often the case due to dialogue being recorded post-animation, whereas Akira had all the sound files ready before animating any facial synchronisation. However this works for Akira, as we can see into every instance of the character’s emotions and mindset rather than the typically mouth and eye only movement that prevails eastern animation.

The film opens with shots of Neo-Tokyo, 31 years post World War Three, the prevailing theme of war and terror already an undertone within this body horror. However the main over-arching theme throughout both the manga and anime of Akira is that the mind and body are linked and that as one expands, the other must expand with it.

As Tetsuos physic abilities are first awakened in the film, the concept of body horror is purely conjectural; he has premonitions of his body rapidly expanding and his internal organs erupting out of his stomach as the ground collapses beneath him at several different points. This can be seen as a matching concept as in Dead Ringers, with Beverly’s dreams of his body being physically conjoined with Elliot. For a film-goer, these forewarnings are a welcome thing; showing hints of the climax of the film to keep the viewer interested in seeing how the gore and visceral imagery of the film develops as the film progresses.

While both the animated movie and manga show aspects of bodily mutation, they portray Tetsuos downfall in different ways. In the film Tetsuo remains intact and human as his abilities develop; he takes medication to subdue his head pain as a way of keeping his powers at bay - the usage of drugs are a point of interest in the film; unlike Dead Ringers, where drugs are a catalyst that create the body horror element and leads to the protagonists breakdowns, Akira shows drugs as one of the few things restraining Tetsuos chronic migraines that lead to his bursts of telekinetic energy and therefore his eventual mutation - but as the climax unfolds he connects technological aspects into his arm for structure before his body rapidly expands and mutates into a fleshy childlike entity as a visual metaphors the lack of control over his telekinetic powers despite trying to retain in charge of his own body. In the manga, however, the mutation is drawn out and slow. ‘(A)s Tetsuo becomes more and more powerful, he also becomes less and less human.’(Anderson, 2015). In the manga Tetsuos body doesn’t explode rapidly as a way of reaching the climax of the story but instead mutates slowly as his abilities increase; as his telekinetic powers increase, his body increases in size (along with amassing technological elements) as a way of amassing ‘inorganic matter to contain the absurd amount of power awakening inside him.’ (Cinefix, 2015) Tetsuo still ends up becoming a fleshy mass and then eventually turns into pure telekinetic energy, but the process is much slower and shown in more detail in the manga compared to the films rapid finale. He is even shown to have some control over his transformations, going so far as to willingly mutate rapidly to force bullets out of his body.

‘He metamorphoses into a pulsating, pustulating mass of flesh and machinery that explodes outward, absorbing or consuming everything in its path.’, writes Bolton, describing Tetsuos mutation. (Bolton, 2014, 304) The linkage of organic and synthetic materials is a curious aspect of body horror and is shown interestingly in Akira; Gottesman explains that in 1988, the year of Akiras release, Emperor Shōwa was close to death and was ‘only kept alive by machines’, Japan was facing financial and economic ruin and its structure as a country was in flux. The Emperor was seen as a symbol of traditional values and his connection with machinery to elongate his life shows a realistic view of ‘melding of machine and man’. Gottesman goes on to explain how Tetsuos bodily presence is ‘overwhelming’ and that “rather than celebratory, the force of technology in Akira is purely destructive, as the atomic bomb was in Japan…” This links back to my previous points of pieces of media reflecting the culture they come from; Akira represented Japan and its fear and fascination with the body becoming conjoined to technology in times of need. (Gottesman, 11)

The linking of technological materials and human matter is one that Cronenberg also explores in the ending scenes of the Fly: as Brundles mutation into the Brundlefly is complete and his mind-set is altered he fuses himself with the teleportation pod itself, the prosthetic fly flesh connecting with chunks of metal similarly to Tetsuos fluctuating arm merging with protruding wires. The connection of flesh and metal is a fusion that, while not present in every body horror, helps in creating the aspect of perversion in the genre; a connection that is unnatural yet is something partially human that fits right into the uncanny valley of what the viewer perceives as both familiar and comfortable yet also alien and unnatural. Body horror as a genre aims to arouse disgust ‘- and in its own way pleasure –‘ and the combination of human and non-human is the perfect way to both intrigue and trepidation. (Hurley, 1995, 203)

Akira inspired a live-action film called Tetsuo: The Iron Man, a film revolving around a man slowly devolving into a pile of metallic scraps. The use of practical effects is Cronenberg-esque, possibly showing that despite being an Eastern film the usage of decent practical effects with the intent to disgust and instil terror is overarching despite cultural differences, as well as cementing the fusion of man and metal as a body horror principal. While the animated Akira has inorganic matter as only a smaller part of Tetsuos fusion, Tetsuo: The Iron Man has metal as the films prominent source of repulsion and horror. The jarring flickering effect of the camera twinned with the haunting monochrome adds to the sense of Tetsuo being in the uncanny valley, further repulsing the audience, but the rotting of flesh and replacement with machinery is truly where the audience's discomfort lies.

The joining of flesh and machinery creates a sense of new-ness despite corruption; both Tetsuo and Brundlefly end up being fused with technological aspects in an attempt to strengthen and purify themselves in some way, yet 'the emphasis is much more on the protagonists dehumanization by the alienating powers of technology', describes Napier. While some depictions of human and robotic fusions focus on the protagonist learning to control and use their mechanical aspects for benefit, such as Robocop (1987) or Megaman, pieces of media like these tend not to be focused on the horror aspects of the body, whereas the ungodly 'fusion of human pilot inside armoured machine' in (typically Eastern) body horror media show how unnatural the synthesis of organic and inorganic matter can be. Technology, while initially having the potential to be something positive, ultimately ends up corrupting its hosts humanity more than anything and leads them to their inevitable downfall in the majority of body horror films the usage of it is a staple in. (Napier, 2005, 90)

Ultimately, the animated Akira is an incomplete companion piece to the manga, but this does not take away from the widespread cultural and cinematic impact it produced. Akira gave the western audience a glimpse into the future and created a wave of new ideas and stylistic challenges that continue to this day, it inspired classic movies that will forever be hailed as success stories, and will likely be seen as a pinnacle point in cinematic history for many years to come.

CONCLUSION

“I am a man. I am good and not a beast. I am an animal with reason. I have flesh, I am flesh, I am not descended from flesh. Flesh is created by God. I am God. I am God. I am God.” ― Vaslav Nijinsky, The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky

"Cronenbergs images, it was said, might be shocking, perverse, even disgusting, but they revealed a fascination with the myriad ways that we can be betrayed by our minds and bodies." Writes Morris (1994) is his description of Cronenbergs work, and the same can be said for Akira and other works of the body horror genre; the aim of body horror is to repulse its audience but also spark a primal intrigue. As a species we are fascinated with seeing how far our bodies can be pushed, and the genre of body horror encapsulates this fascination in all its gory, twisted, unnatural glory. Whether through slow build up or sudden expansion, body horror is genre that causes 'recoil and repulsion' but also a feeling of interest and perverse wonder, 'something incomprehensible', (Botting, 2011, 148) and whether the film comes from East or West, body horror will always invoke these feelings.

Society creates media to reflect itself. The fact that cultures of all kinds depict versions of the body mutating surely represents that through humanity faces different hardships and struggles depending on what part of the planet the media is produced, we always fear ourselves, the over arcing theme throughout the human race is the fear of loss of control of oneself, whether it be piece by piece or all at once. Both Akira and Cronenbergs work share themes of the mind and body being linked and as one grows, the other joins it - whether this is growing in size or growing unstable.

Cronenberg is aware of Western society's primal fears and plays with them to gauge a response. Despite its daily usage in our everyday lives we fear technology overtaking humanity, and so body horror films with that aspect show machinery corrupting the flesh and eroding humanity away, Western society being left behind, and so Cronenberg shows Brundle merging with the teleportation pod and portrayed man melding with technology in Videodrome.

Otomos work on Akira represents Japans fear of instability, of a loss of traditional values and lack of control. The culture of Japan was fluctuation with new technology overcoming traditional values, and Napier describes animation at the time as being the ' ideal artistic vessel for expressing....[Japans] obsession with fluctuating identity’ (Napier 2001, 12). Tetsuos fusion of flesh and nonorganic matter is a "metaphor for the loss of control" (Gottesman, 2016, 110) during Japans capitalistic and fascist period and his expansion into the famous mechanical flesh-baby could be seen as a metaphor for Japan rising from that period of time and being reborn into a society that embraces technological advances in its culture.

Perhaps as modern-day technology continues to advance to higher planes each passing year, the next generation of body horror cinema will continue to show grotesque fusions of man and machine. As cinema continues to develop, adapt and reflect society's ever-changing views, it can only be assumed that the future of the body horror genre will continue to strike fear and fascination into the hearts of its viewers.

#captainbobbin #writing #dissertation #body horror #essay #japan #usa #america #east vs west #flesh #horror #cronenberg #akira #otomo #uni stuff

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thekingchad · 7 years

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Brainstorming for L5R Game

OK, I ran a Shattered Empire campaign...about 3 years ago, and i’m using the world the players wrecked for an upcoming game i’ll be running.

Background: The original setting is L5R only all the thunders died facing Fu Leng on the Day of Thunder. This means no restored empire under Toturi the First, and a Sengoku kind of enviornment for the players.

Now, I did have the presence of mind to write a state of the empire before shelving it, but it has been a few years.,

General Events: During the last days of the winter court it is announced that Champion Hida Kisada has died. His daughter Hida O-Ushi officially becomes Champion of the Crab. Her first official act is to arrange a marriage between herself and a very surprised Shinjo Yasamura, the son of Unicorn Champion Shinjo Yokatsu. Following the funeral of her father and her wedding, the court is thrown into further disorder from several announcements: First, that the Clans officially and publicly recognize the implications of the possessed Emperor, and that as the dark one his edicts held no force of authority. The exile of the Akodo Family of the Lion and the Destruction of the Scorpion family are ended and they are restored to their previous positions. A large number of Crab-Scorpion marriages are announced and the Scorpion are bound into a defensive pact with the Crab for a period of one generation. Many hostages are exchanged. A similar arrangement happens between the Unicorn-Scorpion, although the Unicorn gain control of Ryoko Owari, an issue that will cause problems in the future. The Second announcement is even more of a concern. O-Ushi bluntly informs the surviving Crane Delegates, led by Daidoji Iruko, her intention to seize all of Earthquake Fish Bay and the fertile land south of Asahina. She also informs him that if she has to take it by force her armies may not stop there. The Crane leave immediately. The Crab winter court is declared over. The Crab invade almost before the crane delegate reaches his territories, this action having been apparently prepared for some time. Caught between the Matsu and the full might of the crab, the southern crane holdings fold quickly, losing almost half of their land. A desperate defense outside the Daidoji Castle succeeds in stopping the crab advance, and a shadowlands attack forces the crab to withdraw to the lands around Asahina. Several heroes were made in the war, most notably the Bearer of Chukendomo, Daidoji Iruko. She led a party of warriors and ashiguru in a successful ambush of the crab general the invasion, Killing Hida Tsuru in single combat while the town burned around them. She is now the Heir apparent to the Childless Daidoji Uji. Unfortunately, pressed to the south as they are, they are unable to prevent the Mastu army, commanded by the “Butcher” Matsu Gohei, from taken Kyuden Kakita by storm and razing it and the surrounding town to the ground. Compounding matters, a few days before the Lion assault the Emerald Champion Kakita Toshimoko was slain in a duel with the Ronin Dairya, although the Ronin was slain as well. The Lion declare their honor has been satisfied for the Kakita fermenting rebellion in their provinces and return home (Thanks JOE!), leaving the northern Crane lands devastated. The Crane are unable to retake the land south of Asahina, but the crab are also unable to push further north. Famine spreads as so much of the most productive farmland in the empire is laid to waste. After five years of constant fighting, an armistice is signed. With the cranes enraged over the loss of territory and the functional destruction of the Asahina, it is unknown how long this lull in the fighting will last. Imperial Authority wanes throughout this period. With the death of the Emerald Champion, any semblance of Imperial Order dies with him. Increasingly, tales reach you of Emerald Magistrates being killed by bandits, leaving the service and returning to their clans, or even in a few cases, executed by daimyo for interference. The Imperial legions were largely shattered on the 2nd day of thunder, and never truly rebuilt themselves. Clan samurai leave the legions as their terms expire, and few new replacements are found. What remains is made mainly up from Suppun forces, and honorable Ronin. Clans stop paying taxes to the imperial court, and imperial authority only reaches Otosan Uchi and the Hub villages. The Miya are forced to cease the imperial gift, as funds run out. The Otomo have ended their long civil war, as following the unexpected death of the prior Daimyo, Otomo Banu has risen to lead the family. He claims relation to the fallen Hantei line, and demands the clans recognize him has the legitimate emperor. Only the Crane respond, but offer alliance, not fealty. Time will tell weather Banu has the ability to bring the clans under his influence. THE CRAB: The great bear of the Crab, Hida Kisada, has finally succumbed to his injuries from the day of thunder. Having spent the last years of his life dictating to his scribes the plan of action he believes the crab must take to survive in a fractured Rokugan. Following his design, O-Ushi invades the crane and absorbs the Sparrow and Falcon clans, who become families inside the crab. Their attempt to subjugate the fox were briefly successful, but the Fox Daimyo Kitsune Ryosai led a successful revolt by using the clan’s spirit allies and joining the growing Mantis Clan. This action strained relations between the crab and the mantis, but a costly naval battle between the two and this action drawing the Mantis unto the side of the crane in the war kept the crab from pursuing the matter. At the start of the year 1138, the crab have the weakened scorpion as allies, and enemies in the Crane and mantis, and poor relations with all other clans. Their navy is rebuilding from losses sustained in the last year, and a twenty goblin winter has been declared (more to replenish manpower than due to the shadowlands being active).They are self-sufficient for the first time in its history, and while weak politically, are one of the strongest clans at the moment. THE CRANE: The crane clan now scarcely resembles itself from as little as a decade ago. Spending the majority of the last five year in war with both the Lion and the Crab, they have lost close to a third of their southern territory. The ancestral home of the Kakita was captured by the Matsu, who razed the castle and the dojo before withdrawing. The ancestral home of the Asahina was similarly captured by the Crab and was left in ruins, its town abandoned and largely destroyed. The Asahina were largely wiped out, with less than thirty surviving the war. Most of those that did survive have abandoned the traditional pacifism of their family. Many of them have, in fact, requested tutelage under the phoenix in the hopes of learning the war magic’s that may enable them to retake their lands. The crane have always been one of the most populous of clans, although they have traditionally trained a far higher percentage of their samurai for the courts or as artisans, this tradition is beginning to change. Modern cranes are far more warlike than in the past with many abandoning peaceful pursuits and joining the Daidoji or Kakita schools, and the Champion Doji Kuwanan and Daidoji Daimyo Daidoji Uji are undoubtedly planning some way to retake its southern holdings. The young Kakita Kaiten now leads that family and is invested in rebuilding Kyuden Kakita. The Crane are strongly allied to the Phoenix and Mantis, Friendly with the Dragon and Unicorn, Neutral to the Scorpion, and Hostile to Crab and Lion. They still have many favors they may call on, but the lack of power in the courts is beginning to wear on them. DRAGON: To the surrounding clans, nothing of import has happened to the Clan of Togashi, but the Dragon struggle internally as its ancient duties unravel. Togashi Hoshi, son of the Kami himself, shows little interest in ruling his clan directly…or at all. In his absence the Mirumoto lead the clan abroad, and more and more wonder why they stay in the mountains as the rest of Rokugan burns. The Family has extended its protection to the City of the Rich Frog after a Bandit army nearly sacked the city, but the move has drawn both the Lion and the Unicorn into the area to contest the action. The Mirumoto did not originally intend to annex the city, but with the other two clans looking on with greedy eyes, they may not have a choice should the Kaeru plead for protection. Rumors in the last year claim that Hoshi was nearly killed by an assassin or assassins, and Togashi’s Daisho stolen in the confusion. The Tattooed monks refuse to comment, although they are seen in the empire more and more commonly, always searching for something, or more commonly, a lost brother. They report to the Legendary Togashi MItsu, and his subordinate Togashi Wayen. The clan is mostly recovered from the 2nd day of thunder, and several of its commanders are agitating for the Dragon to leave the Mountain in force. The dragon are Neutral to everyone, although relations with the Lion and Unicorn are beginning to unravel over the City of the Rich Frog. LION: The Lion have done well these last five years, with the Matsu family successfully waging a blood feud with the hated Kakita and setting their famed dueling academy to the torch. Notable heroes from that conflict are Matsu Seijuro (Himself Trained by the Kakita), and general Matsu Gohei. This, of course, does not end the bad blood between those two families. That hatred was begun at the dawn of the empire and only the complete destruction of one or the other can resolve it. Despite the victory over the Crane internal divisions, once unthinkable, are starting to break the traditional lion solidarity. Not all were happy to see the Akodo return to power, and the first major act of the new Akodo Daimyo to raise a heimen to the head of a vassal family and fold a small army of Ronin into it incensed no few Matsu. While swords have not been drawn over this, it seems to herald a new era of strife between the two leading families of the Lion. Champion Ikoma Tsunari is an open supporter of the new Akodo Daimyo Kentaro, noting that Toku was long a companion of Tutori and perhaps feeling a kinship with the new lion over their shared teacher. The Matsu and the Hero Kitsu Motso chafe under Tsunerai’s leadership, and many whisper that perhaps another should lead. At the start of the year, the Lion’s military is stronger than all the other clans, although the Crab and Unicorn closely follow them. They have no allies, and are hostile to the Scorpion, Unicorn, Dragon, and Crane, and are unfriendly to all the others. MANTIS: Ten years ago the Mantis were a prominent minor clan known mainly for its mercenary tendencies and master of naval warfare. Now, it is a Great clan swiftly rising in power. The Yoritomo family has exponentially increased its strength by both freely offering Ronin the chance to join, and by absorbing several Minor clans; The Wasp, The Centipede, and the Tortoise. Refugees from the Sparrow who could not continence fealty to the crab, and the Fox, who lead a revolt against the same, further strengthened the Mantis. Yoritomo’s political situation is still precarious, however. Many of the new members bring unsavory pasts or have caused incidents between the other clans. Offering the Fox protection compelled the Mantis into direct conflict with the Crab, and the scattered holdings of the mantis made truly unifying the disparate plans impossible in so short a time. The Mantis still function as an alliance of Families, and each family has brought its own politics with them. Yoritomo can only count on the absolute loyalty of the Tsuruchi family and their distant holdings from the Mantis Isles complicate matters. Being drawn into the war with the Crab cemented what was a cold alliance with the Crane, who made full use of Mantis involvement. Doji Chomei, the former Crane ambassador to Yoritomo’s Alliance, now holds the Distinction of serving two masters, as Doji Kuwanan has ordered him to swear fealty to Yoritomo to facilitate the Cooperation between the two clans. His twin oaths have not yet affected his duties, and with the current close relationship the Mantis and the Crane enjoy, it may not ever. The mantis fleet is swiftly recovering from the damage of the last years, but the cease-fire with the crab has allowed the Mantis to look into another, perhaps more troubling issue. Strange Ships of unknown design have been sighted in the open seas and along the Crab-Crane coasts. Swifter then the Mantis vessels, Yoritomo has not yet been able to force a battle with the strangers. At the start of the year, the Mantis are roughly equal in strength to the Phoenix and Crane, and are strongly allied to the Scorpion and Crane, hostile to the Crab and Phoenix (Who still look down on the upjumped “minor clan”) and neutral to all others.

PHEONIX: The Phoenix position is tenuous, easily the weakest clan in terms of military might, and the policy of freely inducting Ronin Shugenja has diluted the once overwhelming superiority of the Phoenix magical capability. The Lion openly argued that in its weakened state, perhaps the Phoenix should be reduced to Minor status, and more capable clans granted stewardship of their empty provinces. Only two positions have been filled on the Elemental Council, the post of Master of Earth, held by the shockingly young Isawa Teuruko, and post of Master of Fire, held by Isawa Hoichui. The Shiba Firmly guide the clan for the first time since the time of the Kami, and they have chosen to rebuild. They only emerged in force in the last years of the Crab-Crane war, to provide Humanitarian Aid to the lands of the Crane. The clan is also changing due to the influx of its newest members, becoming far less conservative then in the past. Many of these newcomers do not share the traditional pacifism of the Phoenix, but to date Champion Shiba Tsukune has kept them firmly under control. As they progress in their education, they may become a problem. Already several incidents have occurred between the Dragon, Lion, and Mantis. The Inquisitors report an explosion in cult activity in recent years as well, and it seems that several bloodspeakers have used the opportunity to infiltrate the Clan of Shiba. At the start the Phoenix are the weakest clan, behind even the Mantis. They have no enemies, yet, but only are strongly allied to the Crane. SCORPION: The reestablishment of the Scorpion Clan was bittersweet. The Recognition of the other clans that they had acted in the interst of the empire did little to mitigate the crippling loss of manpower and damage to scorpion territory. The greatest city of the scorpion, Ryoko Owari, is now a Unicorn holding, the Crab have taken the Shrine of Osano-Wo, and the mountainous Yogo Provence’s are infested by a large Undead army lead by Tsukuro and including the Undead Berserker Hida Amoro, and a large network of bandits lead by the Former Akodo Kano hinders the rebuilding of the clan of secrets. Many scorpion had spent the last decade cursing Bayushi Yojiro for disloyalty or even attempting to kill him, the revelation that he had been protecting the sword Itsuwari raised the opinion many held of him. The Clan is led by Bayushi Aramoro, brother to the revered Bayushi Shoju. His son Aramasu serves the lord of the Mantis as a ward and hostage, and the mantis look to be a major allies of the scorpion for many years. Many more scorpion survived than anybody realized, and the clan is stronger than the Crane, Mantis, and Phoenix, and many were revealed to have been governing their lands through proxies anyway, disruption from them reasserting themselves is kept to a minimum. The Alliance with the crab was instrumental in securing the resources and talent necessary to rebuilt its ruined fortresses. Aramoro has kept his clan out of the recent wars while attempting to rebuild, but the lack of a central government is retarding the re-establishment of scorpion political power, and the Lion flatly refuse to receive scorpion emissaries. Were it not for the recent wars the Lion have been in, it is likely that Matsu would have invaded already. Even more concerning is growing unrest throughout the peasant population, agitated by a cabal of monks called the “Pure Land” sect. At the start of the year, the scorpion are stronger than the Phoenix, crane, and Mantis. They are hostile to the lion, and friendly to all others, although the relationship with the unicorn are strained over Ryoko Owari. They have defensive agreements with the Unicorn, Crane, Crab, and Mantis, but those alliances to not obligate those allies to intervene in internal matters, such as bandits, peasant revolt, and undead. The majority of Scorpion attention is internal for the moment. UNICORN: The Unicorn may be in the best position of all the clans at the start of 1138. They survived the clan war more or less intact, and suffered comparatively few casualties on the 2nd day of thunder. Yokatsu has also kept his clan out of the recent wars and gained new territory in former scorpion land. Their lands are secure, their people happy, and their armies strong. This does not mean all is well with the clan of Shinjo. The Dragon have seemingly claimed the valuable City of the Rich Frog, an area arguably within the dominion of the Unicorn, the Lion have also claimed the area, and skirmishes have broken out in the area. During the feud between the Iuchi and the Ikoma it was revealed the Shuten Doji of Fear had been unleashed. Only the heroic actions of a band of peacemakers and magistrates, led by Miya Yumi, and the sacrifice of two Emerald Legions kept disaster at bay. The consequences were only known later, warped from surviving the event, Iuchi Shaihai, the daughter of the family daimyo, murdered her father and fled justice. She has since become a Maho-Tsukai of fearful ability, and a large part of the clan’s magistrates are committed to hunting her down. Given the chaos in the rest of Rokugan, Yokatsu has been heard to wonder whether it would be better for a strong man to take the empty throne, as this future inter-clan warfare angers the compassionate clan. At the start the Unicorn nearly match the Lion in military might, and lack the many enemies of the lion. They are unfriendly to the lion and dragon, and friendly to all others.

Now, there is even more, There was a few games after this where the party randomly backed Otomo Banu as the Emperor. The players then fucked off to the ivory kingdoms where they all died. But their legacy prompted me to write Banu’s Coronation and, given events earlier, they weren’t pretty.

Also, apologies, it did not port well from the document.

Oaths

Looking over the gathering nobles in the throne room of the imperial court, the man once known as Otomo Banu was still scarcely able to come to terms with the course of events that led to this day. Two months ago the clans of Rokugan ignored him, but the threat of Gaijin invasion and the surprising support of several of the most well-known heroes in the empire had finally convinced all to recognize his greatness. His empire would last forever, he had only to lay the proper groundwork.

Here, as he took the oaths of the Clan Champions as they returned to the service of the empire.

My Empire…

The reinstatement of the Hostage laws had been met unhappily, but was accepted without argument. Such a measure had been expected, as had the directive that all current fighting between the great clans would be suspended until the Gaijin situation had been resolved. The clans truly did seem tired of ripping into themselves. Only the Lion and Crab met those directives without grace, one because it truly felt it had done no wrong and the other because they had just lost most of their territory gains to a surprise assault.

The Voice of the Emperor, his niece Otomo Youme stepped forward to conduct the proceedings. His advisers had questioned the wisdom of appointing her to that position, instead of using it to placate one of the clans. He had ignored them. Her efforts had convinced the rabble at the Mantis court. She stepped into that mess with nothing, and helped cement his rule from that. She would want for nothing under his rule.

“Yoritomo, Champion of the Great Clan of the Mantis, step forward and offer your fealty to your Emperor.” Youme’s voice echoed slightly, accenting the delightful look of disgust that immediately appeared on the face of the Lion delegates. The whispering in the court clearly conveyed the opinion of the majority here was not happy with the Mantis offered the first opportunity. Nor the clear verdict that they were a minor clan no longer. Banu simply smiled beatifically. The best part was still to come.

The monster of a man moved forward like a storm unleashed, the barely restrained violence in his gait causing several of the Seppun guardsmen to tighten their grips on their weapons. Fortunately for them, Yoritomo simply kneeled before him. “The Mantis will serve the Emerald Empire, now and forever,” Yoritomo growled.

After the Day of Thunder, Yoritomo had given generously from his coffers to assist in rebuilding the capital. While they had ceased, as everyone did, in paying their share of the taxes they did keep paying them longer than everyone else. It was at his Palace that Banu’s ascension was assured, and to combat the Gaijin threat he’s sent nearly two-thirds of all his forces.

Yoritomo was a dog…but a highly useful one. And perhaps with time…loyal.

My hand giveth…

“Yoritomo of the Mantis, most valued of my servants, I accept your oath of loyalty. Unto the Mantis I charge the protection of Rokugan from threats from the east. To deal with the Gaijin filth in whatever manner is to the advantage of the Empire, and the stewardship of those minor clans that remain or are established in the future. I also give leave to the Tortoise to join the Mantis officially, as the Hantei have ever held control over the fate of that clan.”

Forgetting his place at the proclamation, Yoritomo looked directly into the eyes of the Emperor who took great pleasure in seeing pride, suspicion, and disbelief reflected clearly in the eyes of the Mantis Lord. Yoritomo stood after a long moment and returned to his place, slowly becoming aware of and scowling at the outraged look on several members of the court. Ikoma Tsunari looked at Yoritomo with open contempt, a look that was returned with equal vitriol as each rested a hand casually but meaningfully on their katana.

“Ikoma Tsunari-san,” you state, waving down Youme before she calls the one who should have gone next. “I met Toturi once, during the Clan War. He was your Sensei at one time, was he not?” The Lion champion looks at you in confusion…the whole court looks confused at your statement.

This will not do. I will tolerate NO cracks in the foundation of my realm…

“I disliked the man. Intensely. Do you have any idea why?” This was rhetorical of course, she would have no chance to respond before you continued.

Especially from this one. She should have been first to kneel at my feet…

“He failed. He failed in the most spectacular way possible. An empire died under his watch. For that unforgivable offence, he was made ronin. For the audacity of praising his enemy of his skills, his entire family suffered.” The court did not take your statement well. To talk such of a Thunder was simply not done. Even an Emperor could overstep his bounds. As intended this insult to one of the saviors of Rokugan did not sit well with anyone in the room, and Banu had everyone’s complete attention.

“The Scorpion are responsible for that. Their treacherous leader poisoned him so they could murder your predecessor,” she states simply, and to the anger of the “treacherous leaders” brother. Before Bayushi Aramoro can assault the Lion you continue your trap.

Instead disregarding…even ignoring the power of the imperial families. Ignoring ME! Telling ME that Rokugan needed a stronger hand then I could conceive to manage it…and that I was no Hantei…

“Yes, I am familiar with that part of our history. If I remember correctly the Scorpion attempted to prevent the prophesized return of Fu Leng. They failed, of course, and the last Hantei of pure blood did become the vessel of darkness. Even disbanded, the Scorpion came out on the Day of Thunder, and risked annihilation in the service of an empire that hunted them. In the end, they proved that their loyalty was not ultimately to the Fallen Lord Shoju, but to the Empire Shoju died for.” With these words, the Scorpion are mine forever. Perhaps they will keep to their place this time.

Now she dares openly disapprove of my Vassal? One who actually did act as he was supposed to for his betters? She will not threaten my servants at my own coronation!

“Returning to Toturi, while the clans of Rokugan made deals with darkness (here gesture to the crab and phoenix delegates, who shift uncomfortably) or wared on each other for revenge (back to Tsunari) Toturi instead led an army of Ronin and Dragon against the proper enemies of Rokugan. It is largely through the efforts of a worthless ronin that the empire survived at all. In the end, he was the better of a great many samurai.”

Aramoro looked placated and confused at this. Tsunari merely confused.

“Tell me, Ikoma Tsunari-chan…” you say, your voice laden with false sweetness.

My hand taketh away…

“…where did you stand on the Day of Thunder, again?”

“I kept my oaths…” Tsunari starts angrily but you cut her off, leaping to your feet in an explosion of real anger and gesturing to the shattered back of the emerald throne.

“THE DARK BROTHER SAT HERE! ONI WALKED HERE! YOU WILLINGLY SERVED THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL BECAUSE YOU CAN’T TELL THE DIFFRENCE BETWEEN THE SPIRIT OR THE LETTER OF YOUR OATHS!” Turning around, your back to the champions, you raise your arms to the sky. Toward the massive engravings that showed the events of the 2nd Day of Thunder.

“A thousand years of darkness nearly came about…” You pretend to be lost in thought for a moment. Everyone’s eyes are on you as the men assigned to this task take their places, un-noticed overlooking the court. “The Lion have ever been the strong right hand of the empire. But under a person like you, that hand turned against its body. Under you, the Lion strayed from service to the throne. I have not accepted your oath of fealty. You are not worthy to serve me. The Lion under your leadership, is like a wild dog. And know that none who would aid the Dark Brother have any place in my empire, regardless of their reasoning!”

At the last word, the sound of several bowstrings shocks the assemblage. Most have their katana ready, staring at the Seppun above. Dumbly, Tsunari looks down at the arrows embedded in her chest.

“And a wild dog cannot be trusted to know when to kill itself” You finish almost gleefully, waiting for her to die like she should. Many of the court show a look of horror on their face. The Crane and Phoenix Champions look outraged, while the Crab at least look ashamed.

“Honorless imposter!” Amazingly she manages to draw her blade and advance on you. Worryingly too. Isn’t anyone going to stop her? The Seppun were supposed to kill her outright. Can’t they do anything right? You can’t break, running from a dead women in front of the other Champions would destroy any respect this action would generate. Hoping your sudden fear and nervousness don’t show, you hold your ground. Just before she would end you, Yoritomo interposes himself. A brief, although entirely one-sided duel erupts before Tsunari falls, utterly unable to contest with the lord of the Mantis in her wounded state.

Yes. This dog would prove very useful…

Unable to completely hide the way your hands have begun to shake, you try to focus by returning your attention to the rest of the Lion delegation, fixing them with a disapproving glare. They return the look, hatred in their eyes. Hatred…and obedience, as one by one they return their katana to sheath and kneel. Oh well, so long as they know their place. You know that they will never forget, or forgive, what you have done. And the Mantis earned permanent enmity for Yoritomo’s actions today. Still, you only wanted them united up to a point. Enough to take orders, but not enough to work together against you.

“Perhaps your replacement will understand the true meaning of service to the Empire?”

The Hantei are dead. But I will make sure that their legacy lives on…through me…

Oaths: Dragon and Crab

She should have been allowed seppuku, thought Mirumoto Sukune as he looked at the cooling body of the Lion Champion. How can I serve such a man? As the Mirumoto Daimyo contemplated the scene before him, the Voice of the Emperor again stepped forward. Ignoring the blood inches from staining her elaborately decorated kimono, she called the next Champion up to attend Banu. The Emperor. Sukune corrected in his mind. He would need to internalize this, it would take some time to come to terms with that toad on the throne.

“Togashi Hoshi, Champion of the Dragon and son of the Kami Togashi himself, step forward and give your oath!”

The being that stepped forward and knelt was not wholly a man, that much was obvious. His divinity was clear to anyone who looked in his eyes, his body larger then was humanly possible.

He should have been Emperor. None in Rokugan are more worthy then the living son of a Kami. And yet, as Sukune thought those word the voice of his Champion was clearly heard by all, though his lips did not move.

“The Dragon serve Rokugan, and acknowledge you as its Emperor.”

The self-declared Hantei bowed to Hoshi, not deeply, but admittedly it was more than an Emperor was compelled to do. The acknowledgement of Hoshi’s divine status did not do much to settle Sukune’s growing apprehension at the whole matter. Particularly given what he had just seen.

“Togashi Hoshi of the Dragon, I accept your oath of Fealty. Moreover I give the Dragon a new purpose. For a thousand years your clan was charged with watching Rokugan. Yet the Dragon have remained apart from it. That ends today. We have seen an empire that tears at itself, as each clan grabs at power for itself, to the detriment of all. Your days of standing apart are over…now the Dragon shall watch for threats from within the Empire. To guard against the ambitions of men who reach beyond their place. And to burn out those who disregard the thrones authority!”

This is madness! The clans will never tolerate us…policing their actions. Next to Sukune, Agasha Tamori broke into an open smile, obviously liking the prospect before him. The Kitsuki lord was deep in thought, and his face was troubled. Hoshi’s face remained impassive. He simply nodded and returned to his delegation. Lost in his thoughts, Mirumoto Sukune did not immediately detect the growing tension in the room. The Emperor was regarding the Crab delegation with barely visible anger.

“Have the leaders of the Crab all retired? Or died in the recent troubles along the coast? Perhaps the Shadowlands presses the Wall, and necessity dictated all available manpower? Un-seasonal snows blocking all passage north, even? “His tone made clear he knew exactly where O-Ushi and her Daimyo were. The women leading the Crab delegation met his stare without fear or self-consciousness. Sukune realized that he recognized none of the Crab. He had no idea who this women was.

“Hida O-Ushi-sama offers the fealty of the Crab. She sends her regrets that she was not able to attend in person, but is unable to travel at the moment in her condition as her children are due any day now. And given the Cranes counter-assault on their former holdings, her Daimyo are indisposed in seeing to the clans needs. I am Hida Rohiteki, her adviser and cousin.” Banu looked at her with open contempt. He’s going to make another example out of her, Sukune realized.

“The Crab made alliances with the shadowlands during the Clan war.” Banu begins, listing one dishonor after another. “Assaulted Otosan Uchi itself with a fleet full of demons, Lost, and undead. Were played by fools by the Dark Brother. When Kisada finally had the decency to die, your Champion attacks the Crane, all but destroying a family dedicated to peace and razing half of Crane territory. Annexed several minor clans by force. And now,” Banu says with pronounced fury, “she has the audacity to ignore a direct order to attend her Emperor?”

“Does she believe that the Crab do not deserve to face the consequences of her actions?”

“We have paid in blood for our mistakes. The Crab will never again make deals with darkness, this O-Ushi swore over her brother’s corpse in this very place. As for the matter with the Crane, we could not rely on trade to feed the wall, so we took what was necessary.”

“That is not good enough. Not nearly enough to cover the debt your clan has accrued.” Banu says with finality, his face hard.

“Your Champion and her Daimyo will come to me. She will offer the Crane aid in rebuilding the lands she has destroyed. She will offer me her life to atone for her failures. She will repudiate the deeds of her father. And if she is VERY convincing, I will not feel the need to take the lives of her immediate family and servants as well. Her children will be fostered by others more loyal. Perhaps without being tainted by the spawn of Kisada, they shall grow to know their duty to the Empire proper.”

As Rohiteki sputters in outrage Sukune notes that many of those in attendance show their approval at the judgment. I can’t really take issue with that. Kisada had one job…one job….and he betrayed it.

“She will not accept this…”

“Then the Clan of Hida will cease to be, and another given its duties. The Mantis were founded by the True son of Hida, so the legend goes. Do not think she can test me on this, we have precedence for what happens to disloyal clans.”

The court went silent at that pronouncement. It was a poorly kept secret that the Crab nearly worshipped Kisada as the fortune of persistence. However this went, it was not going to go smoothly. Yoritomo even looked troubled by this, having perhaps absolutely no desire to take over the Crabs ancient responsibilities.

Finally finding her voice, Rohiteki finally begins to respond, “I will inform her of your edict…”

“Yes, you do that. Now. Your entourage will remain here. Should your clan be dissolved they will suffer for it first.”

“Now get out of my sight!”

As Rohiteki leaves and the other crabs escorted away by the Seppun, one thought stuck with Sukune, put there when he had returned his gaze to the Emperor…

…Why is he smiling?

Ok, I need ideas on how to have a party of multi-clan characters begin in such a messed up environment. The story will be mainly focused on solidifying the rule of the New Emperor.

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