Month: May 2021

Re:Zero Season 2 Reaction

Season two of Re:Zero was a treat. It is definitely a lot slower than season one, but this is because it did a lot of character and world-building. Overall I can’t say I enjoyed this season as much as the first season. By now the novelty of the emotional rollercoaster of return by death has worn down and the emotion feels shallower, but it still remains a very emotional show.

The one thread that this season elevates the theme that everyone needs to face and accept the past. During this season, all the main characters had to face their pasts: Subaru, Emilia, Beatrice, Garfield, Otto, and Roswaal. Rather than being an escapist Isekai series where the protagonist is thrown into a fantasy world, Subaru has to face his past as an Otaku shut-in. Subaru and Emilia had to literally face their past in a world created by the witch Echidna in her three trials. Garfield, Beatrice, and Roswaal had to let go of certain parts of their past for them to let go and go on with the future that Subaru is forging. All of the advantages that Subaru gains in this season were his ability to learn of the character’s pasts and then play that to his advantage the next round when he gave a motivational speech or made a deal.

By coming to this world and interacting with these people, it gives Subaru the motivation to do more with his life rather than being an otaku shut-in. Thus, the fantasy world inspired him and gave him encouragement. A meta read on the season could imply that this genre has that effect on people since it provides us with characters and people we can relate to– since in our mundane lives, we often don’t have people we can connect with. Subaru wanted his parents to scold him for skipping school, someone to get mad at him for being incompetent– and Subaru got that in this world. This series also does constant fourth wall breaks with Otaku culture. Subaru is completely aware that he is in an Isikai and makes constant references to the tropes in the genre. Although Subaru starts as that “that guy,” Subaru slowly changes into a more mature adult we root for as the hero.

Death Note

Death Note is an anime that follows Light Yagami after he acquires a magical notebook that enables him to kill people by just putting their name down in the notebook. Light takes it upon himself to become the arbiter of justice and kill criminals. L, N, and M are kid genius investigators tasked to take down Light Yagami.

As the show went on, it kept getting better and better. There was a twist with each episode that kept you at the edge of your seat. This show is really a battle of wits and intelligence between Light and L; every scene and detail held significance. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys crime and or darker anime.

The philosophical question posed in the show centers around what is Justice. People like Light or his hidden “hero” name “Kira” would argue about a more principle-based approach to Justice. There are criminals in this world that need to pay for what they have done– think old testament. There was even persistent biblical imagery throughout the show. The demon loves to eat apples: like Adom and Eve. There was even a Michelangelo painting at once showing Light and the demon touching each other through the notebook.

L, on the other hand, has a different view on Justice. L viewed justice more as a means of correcting wrongdoings. IE: it is impossible to know what is wrong without first pointing it out. Although this distinction may feel subtle, it is really not because one view is more fixated on punishment/revenge, where the other is focused on reform. This then begs the bigger question of what purpose does justice serves. Is justice solely done to bring revenge and closure to those who have been wronged or is justice enacted to correct the wrong by changing that person and bettering society?

The show doesn’t give hard answers on what Justice is but rather posed moral questions for the audience to ponder along the way. We are persistently posed with the question: is Light Yagami right? What about accidentally killing the innocent? Do the ends justify the means? If crime rates went down, could stricter punishments for a crime actually be justified?

Another question is raised: does justice only matters when others are watching? IE: is justice something we only care about to maintain our reputation and status? What happens when we are given that anonymity. The show touched on this a bit when it said that people would publicly denounce Kira’s executions as cruel, but people supported Kira privately on the internet.

Re:Zero Season 1

Re:Zero is an emotional roller-coaster to watch. The premise of this anime is that a Japanese teenager named Subaru is teleported into a generic fantasy world where he has to play through it like a video game. When Subaru dies, he is teleported back to a checkpoint, and he is unable to tell anyone else about his condition.

Neither the time loop concept nor the rebirth in a fantasy world is a new concept in anime. However, Re:Zero does a great job at leveraging the time loop to take us on an emotional typhoon. Subaru is faced with the darkest, most disparaging, degrading moments, only to be built back up by characters that fall head over heels for him. Although the character could whimsically die and face no emotional consequences from the viewer, the deaths presented in this show are always very emotional and heartfelt.

Steins Gate is very similar to Re:Zero in terms of the time loop. In Re:Zero it is when Subaru dies, wherein Steins Gate, it was a time machine. Both shows call into question the nature of reality and leave plenty to question. Within Steins Gate, the science is “well” established, but there is the underlying question of why do they have to fight fate/convergence. What other forces are at play? In Stein Gate, the time loop narrative was front and center, wherein Re:Zero, the time loop is comparatively in the back seat. Re:Zero is more focused on the fantasy adventure aspect. After an entire season of Re:Zero we still have no clue why Subaru is in this world, and all we know about the “return by death” is that it has something to do with a wicked witch.

Gravitation

I absolutely loved this show. It was fast-paced, never repetitive, and it was absolutely hilarious. It is a must-watch for the shounen-ai genre.

The show is built on strong character dynamics. Shuuichi, the main character, is very goofy and emotional. Shuuichi is the polar opposite of Yukie, the person he falls in love with.

The show isn’t without flaws. The animation is inconsistent at times, and although the music is great, they constantly re-use the same two songs the entire show.

I’m conflicted as to how I feel about Shuuichi falling in love with Yukie in the show. Yiki is a narcissist who talks down on people and pushes everyone out of his life. However, by the end of the season, with the backstory of Yukie fleshed out, I come to understand why Yukie acts the way he does and he does open up to Shuuichi more.

I can’t say that Gravitation said or did anything unique in it’s show. According to todays standards, it is a typical love story. However, being published in 1999, this was one of the first popular shounen-ai anime, and it opened the floodgates for the genre as we know it today. Despite being 20 years old, the anime still is well worth the watch.

Manga: There are Things I Can’t Tell You

Short review for a short LGBTQ romance manga. The artwork was gorgeous, and the romance between Kasumi and Kyousuke was heartfelt. Definitely worth the read if you are interested in gay romances.

Apart from your typical love tropes, this manga explores two additional themes: what it means to be happy and how our careers can interfere with our romantic lives. In the manga, Kyousuke pushes away Kasumi because he believes that Kasumi would be happier if he weren’t in a relationship with him — because societal norms growing up coerced him into thinking that gay relationships are somehow bad. It wasn’t until receiving a love confession from Kasumi and advice from his boss did Kyousuke decide to follow his heart and proclaim his love to Kasumi.

Kyousuke is depicted as a workaholic, frequently pulling all-nighters for the agency that he works for. This ends up pushing him to burnout and being unhappy. Moreover, at the beginning of the manga, Yukiko is having an affair with Kasumi because she is unhappy with her husband because he is distant because of work. Yukiko believes that Kasumi could fill a hole in her life, but that never happens. Nothing that the manga says is deep in this regard. But, it is nice including this because our society has a romanticized view of workaholics. Yet, in reality, it is a self-destructive behavior that pushes the ones you love out of your life.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why was initially published as a novel by Jay Asher in 2007 and then later turned into a Netflix original series in 2017. This is a particularly hard book to review due to the outrage and support it has sparked since its release.

With that said, I feel like it is worth taking a deeper look into. The Netflix series had amazing cinematography and was overall produced well. The novel told the story via two simultaneous narratives, with Hanna on the tapes and Clay Jenson providing live feedback. This was an interesting way to tell a story like this since most dual narratives in print media are separated by chapters instead of being interwoven. The novel only spanned the night that Clay listened to the tapes, where the Netflix series dragged out the time that Clay listened to the tapes and had him interact with the other people on the tapes. This change was obviously done to make the show more compatible with the format.

Why the hate for Thirteen Reasons Why? This all boils down to whether the series did a good job at portraying suicide, rape, and mental illness. After a first viewing of the show, and reading the book I would have to say that it did an “ok” job at portraying these subjects. It invites a discussion around suicide and what we can do to help people dealing with mental health. Although it uses one-dimensional tropes found in your typical angsty American high school drama, it gets the message across.

However, doing an “ok” job isn’t good enough because portraying these things in the wrong way can encourage suicide among people at risk — which happens to be the target demographic. According to experts, you should not sensationalize, romanticize or portray suicides as heroic. Does Thirteen Reasons Why do any of these things? Well… the Netflix documentary definitely does a lot more sensationalizing than the original novel did, often using gory imagery of Hanna’s death. The original novel only briefly mentioned how the suicide happened, and it didn’t go much into the details.

This all isn’t to say that media shouldn’t discuss suicide — experts say that it is important to have more stories about both suicide and suicide survivors.

There should be MORE stories about suicide survivors and MORE stories about suicide, but the emphasis should ALWAYS be on suicide prevention, awareness, and support.

Suicide.org

In the novel, it was explicit that there were people who were willing to help Hanna, but she pushed them away– like Clay. Moreover, other people failed to see the warning signs of her suicide–Tony. This all emphasizes the importance of awareness, support, and prevention. It would be acceptable to have peers who are ignorant about suicide, but it sends the wrong message when Mr. Porter, who was supposed to be the trained expert, could not give Hanna the help that she needed after she reached out to him.

The novel finished with Clay ignoring class to run after Skye to talk with her since she has been showing suicidal tendencies. Great way to end since it focused on what we should be doing to be aware of mental health and how we can support others. The Netflix adaptation decided to thicken the plot and add a second season that focused on bringing justice to Bryce: the serial rapist. Rather than focus on suicide prevention, the Netflix series turned Hanna’s death into a heroic act that was used to bring down Bryce.

Most of the hate that Thirteen Reasons Why has received is solely due to the glamorization and messages introduced in the Netflix adaptation. This is a shame because the Novel has real potential to connect with teenagers and send a good message.

Anyone who is suicidal may receive immediate help by logging onto Suicide.org or by calling 1-800-SUICIDE. Suicide is preventable, and if you are feeling suicidal, you must get help. So please visit Suicide.org or call 1-800-SUICIDE immediately.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

Cowboy Bebop, the movie, definitely lives up to the reputation of the anime. The plot follows the Bebop crew as they foil the plans of a biological terrorist using nano technology developed in secret by the martian government.

The terrorist (Vincent) was an ex-military member used as a Guinea pig for anti-nano technology. The particular nanotechnology that he got infected with completely wiped out his memories. This led Vincent down a dangerous path where he questioned his very nature of being believed that he was trapped in a dream. Vincent believed that the only way to escape this dream would be to be the last one standing: ie kill everyone else with nanotechnology.

The very notion of being in a dream and not “living” is reminiscent of the themes in the rest of the anime. In fact, during the show, Spike said that he and Vincent aren’t all that different since they have both died before — in this case, a spiritual death rather than a physical one. For Spike, he died when he fled the crime Syndicate, leaving behind the love of his life.

More recently, Mugen Train explored dreams in an Inception fashion way. But, all this begs the question of what happens when you can’t trust the very nature of your reality? Do we use dreams as a fantasy, a way of escaping reality since the world is too cruel to accept?

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is an anime amalgamation of multiple genres that stands the test of time and still feels fresh over two decades after being produced. There is nothing not to love about this anime.

The action is decent– especially considering the time it was produced. The characters are funny and relatable. The episodic nature of the anime made it a easy show to watch one at a time on lunch break. However, my favorite aspect of this show was how distinctive yet familiar the show felt.

Cowboy Bebop incorporates aspects of the western, sci-fi, and noir genres, making the show feel very fresh. Although the show is sci-fi with space-battles, high science concepts like transplanting your brain into cyberspace, Cowboy Bebop is not a dystopia. In fact, it feels more like a snapshot of the ’90s rather than a dystopian future. At its core, Cowboy Bebop is a story about people, not about science; technology merely serves as a backdrop for the story.

The core story carries strong noir and western themes. The crew of the Bebop are searching for meaning in their lives, yet are shackled by their past. The episodic nature of the show illustrates how easy it is to fall into a slump. The only character progression we get is with the few episodes where people from the characters’ past are brought in.

Jet was holding onto a past relationship that had long gone –literally carrying an old broken pocket watch. It wasn’t until the episode where Jet confronted Allisa and saw that she had moved did he realize that his idealized version of the past never existed in the first place.

Faye was literally frozen, unable to move forward. It wasn’t until Faye regained her memories of the past she was able to move onwards. Returning to her home and realizing that she has nothing to go back to make her realize that she had everything she wanted with the crew of the Bebop.

Spike used to be a member of a powerful crime syndicate called the Red Dragons. Spike later fell in love with Julia and made a plan to leave the syndicate with her. However, in the process, he nearly dies and is plagued by his past the rest of the series. In the final episode after Julia is killed, Spike decides to confront his past and take down his rival Vicious. When leaving the Bebop, he tells this to Fay while she pleads with him to stay:

Look at my eyes, Faye. One of them is fake cause I lost it in an accident. Since then, I’ve been seeing the past in one eye, and the present in the other, so I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture. I felt like I was watching a dream I’d never wake up from… Hmp. Before I knew it, the dream was all over. I’m not going there to die; I’m going to find out if I’m really alive. I have to do it, Faye.

This is not a happy story. It is not a happy ending. But, by facing his past in a blatant suicide mission, Spike was finally able to get closure and move forward with his life, breaking the monotonous cycle.