thesketchyheartist

[thesketchyheartist]

I think her identity, even when confronted in episode 7, is supposed to be ambiguous. Even the title doesn't make sense. I know Lain is the main character then what is "lain"? Is "Lain" and "lain" the same? What are the denotations? What are the serial experiments referring to? Is each episode an experiment? And what were their purposes? What was it trying to find out? Or where they experiment to find ways to find something like the Knights? Or was it Lain calling them experiments? Why were episodes called "Layers" and not "Experiment"? And I don't think Lain ever grew up. If she doesn't remember birthdays, does she not have a childhood? Is she even a girl?

Post for 4/24

I’m really glad that we got to watch Serial Experiments Lain for this semester’s last class. It was a cool show! The anime’s art style is unique and I think the bleak backgrounds really added to the atmosphere. It’s very minimalist, but it works wonders for this show.

I was sometimes confused by random, short sequences that the plot didn’t really explain. For example, there was a guy who was chased around and murdered (?) by a little girl, but I don’t think the show ever clarified who either of them were. Then, some guy killed (?) that girl in a game called Phantoma in the Wired using his handgun (no pun intended). Also, where is Mika? Can someone check up on her?

However, the moments when I could comprehend the show were good. I wonder if the version of Lain that is confident is a reference to how the shield of anonymity makes people lose their expressional filter when they’re talking on the internet. Also, it was kind of annoying to see Lain’s family basically neglect her well-being, except for her father to some extent. I did end up watching the very last episode of the anime, too, and it was nice to see her father talking to her in limbo.

My favorite episode was the last one we were assigned, where Arisu reminds Lain that she is human and stops Eiri’s plan from coming to fruition. It was wholesome to see Lain trying to comfort Arisu and vice versa, despite Lain letting her see man-made horrors beyond her comprehension, going so far as to erase herself from everyone’s memories to stop their suffering. It felt like Lain was more human than she ever was during those moments. Actually, I think they intentionally made it ambiguous whether Lain is a human, homunculus, program, or a God. In any case, it was awesome to see her putting Eiri, a false God, in his place. By all means, own that fraud!

Image of Lain from https://pen-online.com/culture/god-is-in-the-wired-serial-experiments-lain/.

[thesketchyheartist]

04/24

Serial Experiments Lain (EP 1, 4, 7, 12)

I thought the show was interesting, but I don't know if I liked it. I was in a bad mood when I watched it, and I still am, so maybe I didn't see things right.

One thing I did noticed throughout the show were people's eyes. I don't know if it's artistic styling like if the animators/artist got lazy or intentional, but some eyes were very un-human. Lain's is a good example. Her pupils were super constricted and the lines that point towards or away from the pupils made her eyes seem fake, and not because it's a fiction, but it just made her seem unreal. Even in episode 1 before anything began, she did not look normal, but I guess that might have foreshadowed her origins.

The Wired scenes reminds me of 2000s movies that featured the Internet with the grainy screen qualities and the deep dramatic computer voices at the introduction scenes in each episode.

Also I wanted to point out that ominous shadow in Lain's neighborhood street. I thought it was ominous because it looked like a shadow from the houses or electric pole but the sahdign wasn't a dull grey but it had things in it that supposed to be either a void or a pool of dark things.

Anyway, I have no clue what went on in Lain's mind, but I know she's supposed to have traveled between the Wired and the real world. When she explains things, I don't know where or how she came up with the stuff. It almost sounds like she figured it out, but it didn't say how.

I am curious about what is said and found about the Wired. I know it basically refers to the Internet and its infinite possibilities. Even now we are still finding new ways to use it and open new avenues within the Internet for people to discover. But like computers, the Internet is a man-made construct. The things it cannot do are what we allow or have not found.

But that's the point of the Wired. It suggests that what people don't know already exists, you just need to find it. Instead of treating it as a manmade construct, it is an independent dimension that can only be accessed by devices (phones and computers, or the anime calls them Navis). And a Navi doesn't connect you to some location on your selected Internet. It connects you to your Wired self. Or at least for Lain, it did. I don't know what other people do since they are supposed to be "applications." Are they applications from the Wired that are opened as humans in the real world or the other way around?

I also don't know if it ever explained what the Knights were, or how the Wired or Lain is connected to the suicides, like the very first one at the beginning of the show.

I know the episode skipping probably skewed my opinion of the show, but I don't really have much of an opinion for this show. The confusion probably gives it complexity, but even in episode 12 I am still not sure what anything means.

-04/23/24

Last post of JPT3702. Thank you to everyone who reblogged my posts. I didn't give many mind-blowing posts, but I hope everyone enjoyed it regardless. I had a good time reblogging everyone else's posts and hearing other people's thoughts. Good luck with exams and have a good semester!

[thesketchyheartist]

The movie felt so realistic yet the dreams felt so out of touch with reality that it blurs the lines between what is reality and dream. Yet the dreams, like real dreams, actually held meaning and connected the scenes in a narrative sequence, like the way a movie is made.

Paprika 4/22/24

I had always heard about this movie, but had no frame of reference for it, but upon seeing the art style I immediately saw striking resemblances to Perfect Blue I assumed it was going to be visually gorgeous and absurd film, and boy was I correct. This film like the aforementioned Perfect Blue deals a lot with reflections, with all of the main cast having their own twisted reflection of themself that propels each of their character journeys. Whether it be Atsuko's reflection being the titular Paprika, Detective Konakawa and his deceased friend, or even Osani and Chairman Inui, reflection populates this film and is tied directly with the theme of identity and self-discovery that this entire movie is drenched in. Even the distinction between Atsuko and Paprika showcases the inherent disconnect between her sense of self, with Paprika being colorful, spunky, laid-back, and free as opposed to Atsuko's real life serious demeanor, constrained appearance, and flat color scheme. This is even representative with the dream world and reality, with the dream world usually being doused in a Spirited Away-esque parade that gives it an energy and vibrance that is absent from the more monotone, flat, and dark color scheme that reality has. This visual style is even reflected at the end of the field with Inui's nightmare delusion image corrupting the dream world with a darkness seen with reality, a void that is consuming the spirited world of dreams. Aside from this constant showcase of reflection, this movie was just gorgeously made, the animation captures the peculiar but open domain that dreams can often be, whether it be Konakawa's inability to run, the walking through solid surfaces, and how quickly things seem to go out of your control, it truly made me feel like I was watching dream sequences for its entire runtime. The visuals house a fascinating look into the ethics of technological advancement with the DC Mini device having the potential to effectively change how the mind is studied, but also cause an equal amount of damage that would change the landscape of mankind. These themes of personal privacy and autonomy are paramount in the overall message of this movie, with the DC MIni showcasing such beauty but putting so many at risk with its unlimited freedom and lack of control. To summarize, this film was insanity, and despite being confused for a majority of the runtime, I enjoyed it to a degree I wasn't expecting. I like to think of this movie as a sister movie to Perfect Blue as they have the contrasting colors of blue and red in the posters and in name, and the main character dealing with the same identity issues, and frankly I feel that enhances both of these movies.

Even before I watched this film I knew of the visuals that inspired Inception which only enhances the film because these shots quite literally were copied and finding out that Christopher Nolan potentially took inspiration from this film was very intriguing. It's also interesting to note that the show similarities all embody common features of dreams, like the bizarre movement, reflections being so abnormal and the unorthodox cinematography that both films utilize.

This was pretty much my expression throughout this entire film, god it was just mesmerizing but for so long I was so lost as to what was happening lmao.

[thesketchyheartist]

04/22

Kon- Paprika

This was a nice movie. When I knew it was made by the same director as Perfect Blue, I had a strong feeling it would be something mind-boggling, but I didn't expect to see the same reality vs dreams switching.

Now, we have only grown characters, though I noticed Paprika seemed to look more youthful than Dr. Chiba, but I guess it's a little weird to determine a dream's age.

Also, the ending was quite unexpected with Dr. Chiba "changing her last name" to Tokita. I think Paprika telling the detective Dr. Chiba to change her name might have been her way of letting him go without inviting him on. In a way, I can sort of see why she would send a note via Paprika rather than telling him in person when they are already acquainted after he kissed her when she was unconscious and without consent.

I think Paprika telling Dr. Chiba how it was the doctor who was a part of Paprika, not the other around, was an interesting idea. Unlike Perfect Blue where illusions of Mima are part of the real Mima, even if it's a delusion, it was more like Dr. Chiba wanting to become more whole by becoming Paprika. In other words, Dr. Chiba did not save the world by accepting Paprika as a part of her identity, but Paprika was the identity she was meant to become all along. Not that Dr. Chiba was the lesser half, but Paprika is simply the "other me" she has been trying to find. And when she is "reborn" like the chairman, she becomes the person she wanted to be not through Paprika, but when Paprika and Chiba fuse to become the light. It is not the darkness that consumed her but her own light that she already had that was able to consume the darkness and reset the balance between reality and the dream world. Dr. Chiba's choosing to save Tokita shows that she has become Paprika. Even Paprika herself said she didn't know what to do. Without Dr. Chiba, Paprika is just a shell. She may be a caring hero who can understand and help people, but Dr. Chiba is the smart one who can create solutions. Without the other, the two alone could not have won. I also like to think Paprika can be seen as both the standalone (given how she was able to travel freely in the fused worlds like she was familiar with them and when she would save Dr. Chiba in the real world) and a piece of Chiba (when she understood why she needed to enter the Tokita robot to be the extra spice to Chiba herself).

I also thought it was strange and sad that even at the end of the movie, we never really knew who the detective's friend looked like. I don't know who the Radio Club bartenders are, but given how they and Paprika helped the detective on the side deduce the meanings behind his dream, his friend's face is still obscure. I also admire how even when Paprika saves him during his dreams, it is when Paprika is in trouble that he can save himself from his fears. By remembering his past and saving himself by ending his nightmare his way, he was able to accept his past as the past. I like to interpret him changing his dreams as to how people change their own aspirations. It is true that he once had a filmography dream, but he "woke up" from his first dream and "went to sleep" into a new dream. But he didn't keep his dream as a dream; he made it into his own reality by working towards it and becoming a detective and a hero like his own dream. So, by entering and realizing a new dream he is both awake and asleep.

Whenever a character enters a dream, we can actually tell this time. The moment we see the inanimate parade, that is a sign that this character is experiencing a dream.

This is the first time I have seen a Monkey King character as a woman. Kind of makes sense because like Sun Wukong (Son Goku since this is a Japanese culture class), he represents humans and their holy ability to defy the social order, including the holy order between the elitist deities of Heaven and the chaotic demons, and it took pain and suffering to learn his mistakes (and a journey to the west) to not get or find enlightenment but to learn it by enlightening himself. Or maybe they just wanted to use his flying cloud as Paprika fell through the skies into a dream and gave her clothes because it's a neat reference.

-04/21/24

One more post!! Then exams because no homework does not mean no work for me :(

[thesketchyheartist]

04/19 Part 2/2

I have to make this additional post about 04/19.

The fiend (Mamoru and Maria's child) was the ultimate foreshadowing. I thought it was weird when Saki said the child actually thought itself as a queerat that's why it was able to kill humans with no repercussions. The mirror trick might've switched it's mind to see itself as human. Or it didn't? Because it got angry. It's complicated to know what it thought because it never learned human languages. I suspect it went crazy because it didn't know what to think. I think it saw itself both as queerat (nurture) and human (nature). Maybe it wavered between one or the other or even none since it didn't look queerat but didn't act human. Nevertheless, the social conditioning is more of a mental conditioning, not physical in the brain. That explains why the child was able to kill humans and was forced to endure death feedback when it killed a non-human.

But what's the foreshadowing? When we found out at the end queerats are, not were, human, it revealed an important fact about the death feedback. If queerats were human, then everytime a person killed even just one queerat, they should've died or suffered. Why didn't they? This goes back once more on the origin and purpose of the creation of queerats. If the killer doesn't realize it killed a human, did they ever killed a human? Well, obviously not. This kind of reminds me of the animal cruelty activists. Yet, when you think about it, everyone killed an innocent animal everyday. When you leave your room and go outdoors, you probably stepped on an ant. When you went in your car, your car probably hit some flies on the highway. Doesn't that make us murderers of nature's innocent creatures? Yet, tomorrow you will do the same thing, and I bet after reading this post you won't feel the slightest guilt about it. So what if I killed an ant? It's just an ant, not like I killed a person. I am not a murderer. But that was what happened to queerats for years. The humans didn't realize they were hurting humans, and even after Squealer's revolution, nothing changed.

The final thing I wanted to add was about queerat and human equality. As Squealer said, he only wished queerats to be equal to humans. Whether or not he died with selfless desires, it doesn't change the fact that his selflessness is justified. I realize now that it's ironic. In the beginning, when the characters were all kids, Saki's only concerns were not dying and not seeing her friends die because they could be killed by the village government. As stated previously, or rather as our professor put in perspective, children are not given human rights until 17, instead of after 22 weeks of conception; what it meant is that the human abortion threshold was changed from pre-birth to pre-adulthood. I mean to regard how insane and cruel it is that children after birth are not even seen as humans, and while technically the death feedback shouldn't kick in since they are not human, they are still kids. But when they age and reach closer to adulthood and therefore are recognized as humans, we are thrust into war with the queerats. With all the chaos happening, I realized that the queerats and children were always equal. Maybe that's why it was easy for the kids to get along with the queerats because queerats and children were born "not human" when they've been human all along. It is unfortunate that only when kids are adults that they get human rights but queerats will born and die as "not humans" no matter how long they live.

Is it fair? No. But really, what could've been done? I tried thinking about it, but there is no simple solution that can solve this. Like the problems today, everyone needs to tackle the problems together at the same time all together all at once. Could the past have done better? Maybe. Maybe not. The circumstances sometimes don't reveal all the choices until it passes. Could America have been born without enslaving people? Maybe. Maybe we would still have farms and wooden wheels. Did humans have to treat women like livestocks? Perhaps, or perhaps not.

Ok, that's all.

-04/18/24

[thesketchyheartist]

That is an interesting dynamic regarding gender roles and expectations of each sex. The human dynamics within the villages didn't seem too unequal in power when it came to gender roles, as all children were expected to work hard in school. Not to mention, Saki was chosen to become a leader not because she is a girl or performed practices expected of girls but because of her mental stability and resilience in challenging situations, praising her for being a human of strong humanistic qualities. But perhaps that's why queerats were deemed inferior because they relied on these social dynamics to maintain a sort of order in their colonies, not necessarily on merits and achievements.

Shin Sekai Yori (15, 21, 24, 25)

In episode 15, we can see Squealer and his species worry about becoming extinct and therefore try to exploit the queen. They knew they were smart and believed that they deserve some power, yet the queen had so much and ruled over them unfavorably. I feel like this represents governments/powers throughout history: the government exploits or neglects its citizens and, therefore, the citizens retaliate, protest, etc. at the power's expense. The citizens come together to build power and make changes to the government/power. Squealer and his species worked together, forming a union, and tried to negotiate, yet they ended up trapping her and still exploit her for the benefit of the colony. This is similar to when the newly formed government reduces the power of the leader, making them instead a public figure (kind of like the president or prime minister). Then we see things like war prisoners, enslavement, imperialism/colonialism in episode 21, which we see in history during an overthrow of rule as well. In the last episode, the Squealer talks about how change is necessary, which I do think is true, but that the sacrifices would have been worth it if they had won, which I disagree with: in the end, people lost their lives. War and violence are the problem (I can see why Squealer thought they needed to resort to it, especially when they tried to propose equal rights, but to continually hurt the Queen and other species? That does not seem very moral). In the end, it is quite a morally grey area when you consider all things, though.

I think there is also commentary on patriarchy. The Robber Fly colony thinks that the queen's only job should be childbirth, while the "smart" ones should have the power. The queens are stuck inside (domestic duties, trapped in the house) while the men (I think) are free to roam and rule. This also reminds me of Japanese history. There were queens with power an extremely long time ago in Japan, like Queen Himiko, that people at first accepted as ruler; however, men soon believed they deserved the power, labeling women that ruled as evil (people believed that Queen Himiko had magical powers that she used for evil purposes as well), resulting in men ruling Japan. Then, they use violence, blaming the Goat Moths for shooting an arrow when they used violence first. This represents the common opinion that men often resort to violence more compared to women, like starting something as small as fights or as big as war.

Now, something that I find quite disturbing is how kids ended up having a child?! Like I think they are 14? Definitely an interesting plot by the storywriter - I wonder what the idea was behind that?

I think that overall, this anime is a commentary on power, whether its a ruler, and man and woman, magical powers, or the responsibility that comes with it.

[thesketchyheartist]

04/19

Shin Sekai no Yori (EP 15, 21, 24, 25)

This show ended so peacefully considering how dramatic it was. I think the toughest part of digesting it now is really being satisfied with the future because when their current society was made, perhaps the founders thought it would finally rest their problems in peace, but obviously it didn't. Now, we expect things to be better, but we only hear Saki's post-war narratives, not actual post-war generations' recalls.

And after watching these episodes now, it confirms pre-EP 15 (I don't remember) of watching the queerats get killed that they are in fact, humans. I think the most horrifying revelation was that Saki and Satoru found out after Satoru illegally researched after the revolution ended when it should've been a peaceful post-war revival of society, but instead, they continued to learn the horrors of their ancestor's history. In that sense of how the queerats were created, it reminded me greatly of how enslaved Africans and their descendants were treated in colonial and post-colonial America. Even after Civil War era was over, it is still shocking how little modern American actually knew how they were treated. Even when we learn about the past, many details are still omitted to not "taint" the pride and ideals of the average life. However, as seen in Squealer's revolution, unless we properly make amends with the past, one way or another, it will come back and hurt everyone. The "new world" that arised from the untamed psychics might have found a way to tame the untamable, but the people were stuck in the crossfires end up becoming enslaved to incompetent founders.

The worst part is knowing the government probably knew all along what happened, but they chose to not worry about external issues and focus on just making the "perfect society." In fact, I'm sure there were intelligent kids like Shun who would be that perfect leader and advisor to come up with new solutions that society will benefit from, but because they could not control their powers and the adults won't find ways to help them control their powers, it was easier to kill them and have mediocre kids who become mediocre adults that rule their new world.

I remember Satoru telling Saki how after seeing the concrete building in the queerat colonies, he said he gets the "sick feeling that the queerats are tryign to become humans" especially because he knew that not even their villages had concrete buildings. I don't know how they knew what concrete was if they don't have a concrete building, but the foreshadowing was scarily uncanny when Satoru was also the one to study their genome.

Fun fact: the Human Genome Project was conducted in 1990s and lasted about 10 years which revolutionized modern genetics because scientists were able to study the human genome (as in every piece of human DNA) to find out their sequencing and what each set of sequence correlates to what gene and what each gene does. I looked it up, Shin Sekai no Yori was published as a manga in 2008, so I think it makes sense that after the project and its findings were released, that was probably when the mangaka began writing this manga. Though, the queerat's origins reveal was in the alst volume, given how it was revelaed in the last episode, I think the inspiration to create a human subspecies probably came from this. The HGP is imprtant today because what once took scientsits years to study the genome, takes us much shorter time and more efficient when we want to study a specific gene.

I was also kind of right about Saki becoming the "Giver". While I don't know if most citizens became aware of their hsitory, the fact that Saki retaining her memories (and by association) Satoru probably started remembering his hidden past, she is able to make informed decisions while keeping her humanity throughout hte show. I think her strongest ability in the group is to persevere no matter the trauma she goes through since her childhood. We see how when she is put in terrifying situations, her eyes are filled with shcok and her body and mind seem to be frozen in time, but after the shock is processed, she is able to get back into action. I think it showed how integral she was in Group 1's dynamic with everyone excelling in their categories , but it truly is a shame that because society wanted people to conform to them, the group lost its team network when they took out its members one by one.

Satoru's development was quite surprising. We see he is more rowdy as a kid and while he is quick to assume and believes what he is told, I think when he grew up and also started to learn the truth both from Saki telling him and from seeking the truth on his own, he is more reserved and logical. Like when hearing from the false minoshiro, he wanted to be ignorant of the truth but as we see now, denial only caused pain when society began to collapse from the revolution.

I think Group 1 was probably the #1 group in their generation/grade/school hence the number. And I think if they all reached adulthood, each of them could've been a leader who could change their village for the greater good while resolving issues that caused the problems in their adolescence/adulthood. Shun is definitely the wisest. Mamoru might be soft-spoken but understanding and empathetic of the weak and below average. Not sure about Maria, but she seems in touch with her feminine side that could appeal to the women of their society. We already know what Satoru and Saki are capable of. Maybe Squealer upon learning his species' origins would still revolt because even if the humans were to make it right with the queerats they might still have unresolved anger, but society would have been stronger and made another new world that focused on equality rather than stability. Much like how today's world no longer has any living enslaved Africans and very few living post-Holocaust Jewish people, just because they are gone now doesn't mean their descendants are immediately forgiving the oppressors. Likewise, though, the oppressors and their descendants are not immediately forgiven just because it was their ancestors and not them who are the perpetrators, but that doesn't mean they should sit and do nothing now that was is not here. The whole point of a new world is not just to prevent the old world we wanted to run away from, but to learn from the mistakes and ways of the old and grow into the new world we always wanted that the old could not have.

-04/18/24

[thesketchyheartist]

I know I don't want to know the fine details behind Shonen A's actions. But, it's cool to know how someone can take an analytical approach to summarize and understand serial killer cases as a forensic scientist.

Post for 4/17

“Wild Child” was an unsettling read. I was curious about the Kobe serial killing incident, so I looked it up, and it was every bit as disturbing as I expected. I took a forensics class in high school and we explored a myriad of serial killer cases, so hearing about Boy A’s case really brought me back to those times.

I like horror stuff so Shin Sekai Yori was an interesting watch! It was a bit confusing with all of the lore and episode skipping, but I think I got the gist of it. I’m guessing that the first PK user who committed crimes named Boy A was an allusion to the real Boy A that was mentioned in “Wild Child.” I’m wondering what the Death of Shame that prevented people from stopping Boy A could be an allusion to. Maybe it represents the former Japanese law in place that prevented minors under 17 from being incarcerated? Or maybe it was just empathy that prevented people from wanting to hurt minors? Also, regarding kids who become ogres such as the kid named K, I think the anime did a good job of showing what leads them to doing horrible things – not that their actions are justified, but it’s hard to overlook the probability that many of those kids grew up as victims in some regard. The anime portrayed these kids as neglected, vulnerable, and deeply afraid of the people around them, which I feel is pretty realistic. Of course, the Education Committee uses a twisted approach of destroying them before they have actually done anything (which reminds me of Psycho-Pass). Right now, I sort of get what message they’re trying to tell for ogres with Larman-Krogeus Syndrome, but Karmic Demons with Hashimoto-Applebaum Syndrome are still a mystery to me. I look forward to what we come up with in class.

Image of Saki from https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GY5VJKWPY/torchlight-in-the-darkness.

[thesketchyheartist]

04/17

Arai- Wild Child; Shin Sekai no Yori EP 1, 2, 4, 12

The last assigned anime from our professor before the class choice animes will be featured next week. Also, I remembered to read the assigned reading, so I have something to talk about.

Reading "Wild Child" after watching the episodes was really eye-opening. I'm not familiar with the history of psychology (actually just history in general), so I don't know when mental health resources focusing on childhood development really became popular, but the 1990s sounds right.

Watching EP 12 in particular and connecting it with the timeline at the time and the incidents in "Wild Child" shows there have been growing concerns with violent behaviors in children. Theories to pinpoint the cause point to multiple sources, from the home, the school, the people the children find themselves with (including the above), some innate "monster" within the person, or some external source. The anime says that the spontaneous emergence led to society regressing into peaceful primitive villages (we see modern skyscrapers and the peak of collapse in 2011 Gregorian/modern year). Obviously, the children are shocked, and they refuse to believe the society they live in now is built from generations of conflicts and pain. I don't think the cause of the Cantus/PK was ever revealed, but simply that what was a rare anomaly became larger in numbers (0.3% times 7 billion = about 21 million people) before society collapsed. I think this was to show how unchecked violence in even the tiniest number can collapse society.

Weirdly enough, it is not the "good" within the people with powers but the non-powered scientists who "save" humanity. However, we see the need for stability and balance outweighs the need to solve the problem: why do the Fiends and Karma demons actually manifest? Just like "Wild Child" it's a complete mystery why child school shooters and killers do what they do. I know the first scene might be a reference to the actual murders in real life. Like Shonen A, it could be that society didn't think to check on the obvious signs. Or, maybe when it was found, no one thought to care for the person. Even the doctor who I can't tell was trying to kill the boy or treat him couldn't actually do anything and got killed. The point is, that the mystery to find out why doesn't actually lead to any solutions or action to find solutions.

And about the queerats: we don't know who or what they are, but episode 4 (I think?) confirms my theory that they are humans, or came from them. It could be an illusion, that queerats look more human than they are shown because of the unreliable perspective the human characters see them as. Or, they are altered or punished and have taken on the form we see. Or, the death feedback that the bodies undergo that typically kills the person instead changes their body to look like the queerats. They can be the missing students who have been conditioned and had their bodies changed or souls transferred so they can't rebel while still not killing them (as the people in charge I don't think can actually kill people either) and using them for the good of society. Who knows?

I'm sure there was some 10 year gap between episode 4 and 12, but seems irrelevant now. Looks like the MC (girl on far right) is becoming the Giver (reference to my past, did you get it?)

-04/16/24

[thesketchyheartist]

Even Itazu while basically immobilized in a hospital (he lives!! Car-kun: 0; Itazu: 1; Isekai protagonists: ??), was just happy to see his work paid off, and he basically saved Japan. And all the NEETs entering the mall prioritized getting their phones over revenge (the fact that they were literally waiting in line like good respectful adults too showed they are not savage idiots) hinted they weren't supposed to be killed.

4/15/2024 Blog Post

I found the ending of this anime to be satisfying and answered several questions. NEETs aren't the cause of all of our suffering! It may seem that way because NEETs are portrayed to be lazy and worthless, but it's important to take a step back and realize why NEETs are the way that they are. Who created the system for them to end up like this? Do they not want to get a job, or are they incapable? Itazu was a very talented hacker and helped Akira out a whole lot with his skills, but he is a NEET so he must be useless still, right? The problems that this anime commented on all come from billionaires, the government, and a conformist society who doesn't want to step on anyone's toes for the sake of the "greater good". However, while outsiders often see Japan's society as extremely respectful, disciplined, and efficient, their current overall society lacks the willpower to stand up to an unhelpful, restrictive, and ultimately exploitative government.

According to this anime, the Japanese government exploits workers and makes life after education a nightmare, as we've seen. Japanese workers often commit suicide or end up leaving Japan, which is by no coincidence. I guess becoming a NEET is one way to escape the Japanese working hellscape and express yourself more confidently online and engage in hobbies that would otherwise be looked down upon or seen as useless. I don't see a point in being an active, productive member of society through the eyes of others if we're just backing an exploitative government. The problems in Japan still existed while the 20,00. NEETs were still kidnapped, so clearly the problem isn't them. In fact, you could probably argue that kidnapping all of those NEETs prevented progress, since Itazu was ultimately the trump card for our main characters.

[thesketchyheartist]

Almost done with JPT3702!

I'm looking at the syllabus, and wow, I have exactly 4 more posts left. I'm not a Tumblr person, so don't expect any activity for some time. I might actually start posting my personal fan stuff though. I don't know. I've been hopping social media apps for the past few years, so don't fall for my words!!

-04/14/24

: TSH

[thesketchyheartist]

04/15

Eden of the East (EP 6, 9, 10, 11)

The ending makes so much more sense now. I remember starting the show and thought it was a magical girl (boy, in this case) who was a scorned or disowned prince of some distant dimension. But it actually make sense how Takizawa became a prince so he can be a scapegoat.

And, I don't think Mr. Outside is some old [dead] rich guy. I think it's either a computer or a woman. Same for Juiz, part of me also thought it was a bunch of people (women was my guess, but who knows?) who all go by Juiz (if it's genderless, it makes sense) and use a voice changer to sound the same.

The title of the show was surprising, too. I thought Eden of the East refers to what the game's objective is, to turn the "East", or Japan, into an or its own "Eden". The use of English (is "noblesse" English?) in the show is unique. Even the missile scene in the last episode with that song (idk the name but I know I heard it before) even though the setting has been in Japan the whole time is new to me.

So, the truth about the NEETs was quite surprising. I wasn't sure what to think. I knew Takizawa had something to do with them, and the missile attack with 0 casualties definitely was suspicious. But the reveal sounded just like him. I knew he represented the young generation who wished to do something about their future. To think he would represent the power of the hopeful, and he shows it by using society's growing slice of the most useless people and turning them into heroes is incredible. It tells how given the chance and the situation forced upon them, people who are considered and consider themselves useless end up saving Japan. We never know who Juiz really is, but the fact that it is 20,000 unemployed, uneducated people's combined efforts found the solution, not Juiz or a computer for all we know.

I know the other Selecao (the one who actually launched the missiles) is probably another sector of young people representing the hopeless and hated who have been let down by society.

Still, it was cool to watch the effects of work on each new generation. With young people at the forefront of society's expectations, they are expected to do well when they've been set up since the beginning to only do someone else's bidding.

Ironically, the Selecao think they have been cursed to act in society's best interests when technically, everyone has been since they were born. Like the young people, it was not necessarily their fault that their world is the way it is, but by the curse of existing, it becomes their responsibility and their fault if they don't do something. While very, very, very select few have been "chosen" to fix the country with 10 billion yen and a digital genie, in a way, we all have resources that we are supposed to use to help society before society or us dies. Even the NEETs had resources: their phones and their own lives.

I think he "woke up" naked because, like the Eden club, he had to blend in with the NEETs he shipped off to Dubai so the "zombies" (lol for the club to call them that but we can see these people are certainly not heartless or brain-dead). Or, he was in a blacked-out van and they stripped him right before they brainwashed him and dropped him off in front of the White House to (idk) humiliate him. Or something, like a joke.

-04/15/24

[thesketchyheartist]

The show is just different to me, too. It's also neat how good the English was, though it makes sense since in episode 1 it took place in America.

4/12/24

For today, there were two assigned pieces to watch and read. The first of which was the anime Eden of the East. This anime seemed to be a bit of a joke, or at least it was in my eyes. Its plot was largely unrealistic in a setting that seemed like it was supposed to be realistic. For instance the broken English throughout the show felt weirdly misplaced, like in most anime when there's English it is usually one or two words or phrases that stand out apart from the rest of the dialogue. It's used as a form of comedy, however in this anime it felt like it was an attempt to be serious and that just threw me off. Additionally, an instance in which I felt that the characters weren't realistic when the world was supposed to be someone realistic was when Morimi simply trusted a stranger who had also flashed her. That would not happen in the real world unless both people involved had some sort of mental illness or cognitive issue, so it felt out of place.

Now the second work was called "Work Culture" by Mouer. This piece focused on the postwar developments that led to the extreme modern day work culture of Japan. I believe that this is where the extreme senses of duty and nationalism that were found in the military went after Japan essentially demilitarized and changed its militaristic and political culture. Pay stayed low, high amounts of work has stayed expected and has been applauded. Essentially, the idea of the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few was put to the extreme where the many are the corporations and the few are the workers. The expectation is to put the company before the individual, it is an honor to sacrifice one's pay to help further the goals of the company. Overall, I disagree with this set of reasoning but also see where its coming from in the historic culture.

[thesketchyheartist]

04/11

Eden of the East (EP 1, 3, 4, 5)

They used flip phones. It's pretty high tech given how they have (I think) an AI program, but it's not a touch screen.

Also, the fact that Akira probably used to help the unemployed citizens re-enter society, given how a stranger comes up to him and thanks him, and at the end of episode 5, he looks like he wants to help Saki's job hunting.

On one hand, it seemed like he was willing to do what he thinks is necessary to help revive the non-workers. He might have been unconventional though with the naked photos. I think he wiped his memories because he does not understand them as regular people as a secret agent. By wiping his memories he can become closer to people and realize what he really wants to do deep down. Or, it's something dumb like he saw the new tech and he or the universe accidentally hit the "delete" button in his head and now he's empty.

On the other hand, his determination pre-memory wipe might have caused a mental spiral that made him crazy. Sending 20K NEETs to Dubai to fix them up might have been with good intentions but his spiraling made him realize he was becoming less human, and he wanted to change himself before he did something reckless. Yet, even after becoming a new person, he starts giving off Kira and Death Note vibes with the limited power of his money.

But it is ironic to show Saki's job hunting struggles still match today's Gen Z job hunting, especially if you add on that COVID was not even a thought when this show was aired. The fact that even with connections/referrals, Saki knows she did not get the job when the interviewer comments about "youngsters," and she is aware that despite the expectations to carry the future, it is more of a power struggle to basic human decency when she got food poured on her.

Also, the lady in periwinkle blue is very suspicious. It's obvious she is one of the now 11 Seleco, but she is more than some model celebrity. With how she has young men lined up in front of her telling them to go on a diet as "advice", and how she was walking to Saki's friend when he was drunk tells me she is very much a loan shark and/or groomer. Not to mention, waking up in your undergarments and going to the bathroom to see a naked dead body and just asking your AI to "clean it up" because you "oops" and killed someone? And she was so calm like she knows it's happened often enough that it doesn't faze her anymore. Either it's a dissociative identity or something related to memory wipe because she clearly is not very kind-hearted towards the organization's goals.

Akira reminds me of Haru/Natsu/Shiki in a way I can't describe.

-04/11/24

[thesketchyheartist]

It is disheartening to see that anime still approach a pro-military approach, but it's not exactly bad. Given the circumstances, a soldier who was literally saved by the future knows he owes his life to and for the future. Perhaps with the knowledge from the future, he wants to have the perfect medium to get Japan its prosperity without the sacrifice of the atomic bombs and without the Imperialists omitting information. Or, maybe he was already disheartened and thought he could still do something different now that he knew the future.

Post for 4/10

I’m kind of confused and a little disappointed after watching the new episodes of Zipang. It seems that the Mirai crew of Japanese soldiers from the 21st century initially did not intend to alter the real timeline. However, as time went on and as they came face to face with opposition, it seems like they ended up destroying quite a few American ships. More importantly, I thought that this anime would make a completely pacifist commentary on the war at first from viewing the first few episodes, as it originally seemed like Kusaka’s goal was nothing more than to help the Mirai crew achieve peace rather than to embrace the nationalist mindset of the past. While Kusaka did help achieve peace for Japan, the way that they did it was… interesting. Kusaka wanted a modified Japan that wasn’t like “old” or “new” Japan, but rather something in the middle (Zipang) that did not thoughtlessly go to war and did not surrender unconditionally or shamefully, thus necessitating the maintenance of an army. This approach was not quite what I expected at all and it appeals to Japanese conservatives in the sense that it imagines a version of Japan that still retains a military standing even after the war. In other words, Zipang does not imagine a Japan that dominated the war but it does still imagine a Japan that avoids nuclear disaster and preserves its stature and military might, of course, all without taking accountability for their actions. If my interpretation is correct, then I am disappointed in how it turned out. I wanted to like Kusaka because his story reminded me of that of Captain America, although I guess in reverse. Plus, his outfit was really cool. Anyway, I wish that this anime could have headed in a different direction.

Image from http://anime.com/archive/Zipang/.

[thesketchyheartist]

04/10

Zipang P2

It was very hard to piece together a thought process considering the jump for today's assigned episodes, but I will do my best here. Also, I cannot distinguish the characters, despite the art style differences (Tin-Tin eyes vs anime eyes).

After the Mirai was attacked by American planes, the leader's resolve was clearly broken. You can't blame his mistakes on him because pretty much anyone today has never experienced WWII. While there were wars, none were World Wars. Japan after WWII had not experienced true battles, so the scare tactic to frighten with minimal violence was not enough. Even though I'm sure they knew about Japanese kamikazes and suicide missions, I don't think they connected the soldiers of this era had the "die trying" mindset.

Also, we got to understand what the title means to the anime/manga. While yesterday's presenter told the origins of the word "Zipang," hearing it from the characters was just as important. "Zipang" is "Japan" but the original name before it became Japan. Sort of like how "Peking" (if you are unfamiliar, perhaps Chinese food lovers can tell you about the importance and cultural significance of Peking roasted duck.) referred to the capital of China before it became "Beijing." While Western languages do not usually pronounce the words accurately (every language pronounces foreign words a little off, so it's kind of, not really, fair; looking at you, "bao-buns", "lo mein-noodles", "matcha-tea", etc.), how the show interprets Zipang is quite sentimental. Instead of becoming a country shaped by the Imperialist Japanese who do not have the country's best interest or by foreign forces post-war occupation, Zipang refers to a nation governed for the people's lives by people making informed choices in their lives. In a way, it definitely speaks against the State by encouraging a self-governed population, but Kusaba's vision is executed by dark hero's methods that continue to involve killing or manipulating people. In other words, he is acting very un-Jesus-like here.

Tin-Tin eyes, ok?

-04/09/24

[thesketchyheartist]

I'm quite curious how the crew will save themselves and the future. I'm sure part of them might want to stop the war and prevent atomic bomb droppings, but if Japan wins the war, the Navy they came from might not be the same. It might be worse because war is so unpredictable, even for a modern person traveling to the past.

4/8 Zipang (1,3,6,7)

MASSIVE DISCLAIMER THAT HISTORY IS ROUGH FOR ME SO I MIGHT BE TOTALLY WRONG but for the most part I was pretty impressed with the historical accuracy of this anime.

Time travel and the mandella effect are not rare themes in media but this particularly portrayal was really compelling to me for some reason. Obviously hindsight is 2020. Answers become so clear when you already know the outcome but in this anime we can see that Kusaka uses his new found knowledge not for the better.

When the naval officers on the ship Mirai (side tangent that I'm curious about the naming of the ship because mirai 未来 means distant future so I wonder if that was intentional since its from 60 years ahead in time) rescue the Lieutenant from the sinking sea plane obviously it was done with good intentions but quickly they start to realize that it might not have been so good after all.

Over the course of these few episodes the point is made a couple times that 1942 Japanese are not the same as current Japanese and that guns and fighting isn't a long term solution to peace. This in tandem with the obvious juxtaposition of pro-nationalist Lieutenant Kusaka and the Mirai crew is a pretty obvious commentary on Neo-Nationalism and the war in general.

Especially when it comes to big historical events the whole concept of turning back time is often a double edged sword. It easy to wish that you could go back to before you cut your hair or before you spilled coffee on your favorite white jeans but from what I've seen in media portrayals is almost always that changing things can lead to a worser evil emerging. I'm curious if time ever gets reset in this anime and if not what the outcome of it all was.