So I forgot some pretty obvious Pre Narnia Isekai novels

When I wrote my Isekai, In Another World with my Smartphone, Why Wish Fulfillment is Art blog post, talking about western works of literature you could apply the Isekai label to.

Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, plus their sequels and stuff.  Ya know, it's amusing that this genre seems to begin with female protagonists and then Males take it over later.  I don't know enough about George MacDonald's works to know if any of them can be labeled Isekai.  What I mainly know is that he is cited as an influence on Lewis.

I still think the Narnia books are more analogous to modern Anime Isekai then those.  Especially as I've watched more now.

So it occurred to me that I'd forgotten about Oz as I was watching No Game No Life.  I'm aware that a key difference between the book and the infamous 1939 film is the whole "No Place like Home" part.  In the book Dorothy wants to get back home to see her family again.  But the overall attitude towards Mid Western Rural America that Baum was expressing was rather cynical.  So the movie saying "There's no place like home" went quite against the themes of the books.

So all that popped into my head as I watched this Anime about two Siblings with absolutely no desire to return to modern Japan, since they are stereotypical Neets.  And then I slapped myself that I just did a blog post acting like I didn't know about any major Pre-Narnia Isekai stories.  Then I thought of Alice in Wonderland also.

Overall though, No Game No Life still feels much more analogous to Narnia.  With a very different attitude towards religion and spirituality of course.  But it's about Siblings who become King and Queen in their new world.

Speaking of which.  The most awkward parallel No Game No Life holds to Narnia is the tendency for some of the fandom to engage in Incest Shipping.  Now knowing Otaku culture that was probably a little bit intentional with NGNL.  While Lewis certainly did not intend that.  Also I don't think any Narnia fans ship Peter and Lucy, which is age wise what Sora/Shiro is more analogous to.

NGNL is a very good show, I highly recommend it.  I'm a fan of stratagey based Anime like Code Geass.

If I hadn't recalled Alice In Wonderland already, I would have when I started Problem Children, where the protagonists are brought to this world by a Bunny Girl called Black Rabbit.

Problem Children shares NGNL's Gaming theme.  But not executed nearly as well.  Problem Children also feels like it's trying to copy Fate/ with all the re-imagining Classical Myths as Anime Girls.

But Problem Children might feel the most like Narnia in terms of being about a group of kids.  And Asuka seems to have been taken from the WWII era and so almost looks like she's a Susan Pevensie cosplayer at the beginning.  Problem Children is a fun show but isn't gonna come off well comparing it to others.

One big advantage protagonists in modern Otaku Centric Isekai Anime have over more old school examples is they tend to be, or at least include, an Otaku who is very genre savvy about the world they've been taken to.  The Pevensies don't even seem to figure out that Aslan is Jesus till the third book when he finally spells it out to them.  And that's part of my disappointment with Narnia as Christian fiction actually, I'd prefer more Bible Genre Savvy protagonists in my Christian Isekai.  The other is that if I wrote a Christian Isekai I'd have one of the nations in this world be one of the Lost Tribes.

Update: January 2019: Peter Pan, I also forgot that Peter Pan kind of qualifies, I'm such a Baka.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is still my favortie Miyazaki film.

I have only seen four.  But those four are the primary ones that interest me Genre wise.  And further I consider Nausicaa my favorite Anime film, period.  In fact it remains the best even if you include only one of the qualifiers calling it Anime implies, it's my favorite feature length theatrically released Animated movie, and my favorite Japanese movie.

Basically, it's The Dark Knight alone that prevents it from being my favorite movie period.

Now Miyazaki is not someone about whom it's common to say he peaked early.  (Nausicaa was his second feature film, first that is fully his original creation).  In fact some films common for people to cite as their favorite were after he was supposed to retire.

Every Miyazaki film I've seen I've given at least a 9 on MAL, that means I think it's Great.  So there is no insult in my placing a Miyazaki film below Nausicaa.  But Nausicaa speaks to me personally in a way few things are able to, and is the only Miyazaki film to make me tear up.

The primary film some are compelled to compare Nausicaa to negatively is Princess Mononoke.  I gave Mononoke a 10 on MAL, I posted about it twice on this blog already.  The breath of subjects it touches on may make it the movie I'll talk about more often on this blog.  But I still don't get why to others this film seems to spoil Nausicaa for them.

Unshavedmouse said because he saw Nausicaa after Mononoke, Nausicaa felt like a dress rehearsal for Mononoke.  Miragephan said on the Neotaku podcast that she hasn't seen Nausicaa yet because JesuOtaku called it an inferior version of Mononoke.

My confusion at this perspective has less to do with my finding Nausicaa better but more to do with my not seeing these films are even that similar or comparable.

My love for Nausicaa starts with the fact that it's a story that played out the Messianic Archetype with a female character.  The title character is not a Messianic Archetype in Princess Mononoke, nor is she the main character.  If any human in Princess Mononoke is a Messiah of some sort it's the male MC, who I just recently called the Superman of Anime. Among other things, that difference should make Nausicaa the preferable film for Magical Girl fans, Princess Mononoke isn't magical, she's Tarzan.

I think a lot of people are just seeing another Miyazki film named after a "Princess" and with an Environmental message, and deciding there is only room for one. (Cue someone to make fanart of them in a Steel Cage Match.)

Mononoke easily comes off the most Disney like of all Miyazaki films, which might explain why it's Unshavedmouse's favorite.  But I think some Weebs prefer it for being about old timey Japan.

While Nausicaa is more like a Star Wars film that never goes into Space.  So it's perhaps telling that I've been into Star Wars longer then I have Anime.  Remember, Nausicaa is the Hidden Fortress to TFA's ANH.

Isekai, In Another World with My Smartphone, Why Wish Fulfillment is Art.

The Isekai genre is arguably more purely escapist wish fulfillment then most, being literally about escaping this world, going all the way back to C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The With and The Wardrobe.  It may not quite be the first Isekai story, but it is the most important in popularizing it.  And it was translated into Japanese as early as 1985.

It's not common to use this Anime term to describe western novels like the Narnia series.  No one would deny that the term applies and so they are technically the same genre.  But the development of Isekai in Japan, in Otaku centric media, has been very particular.  With increasing nods to Video Games of the RPG genre, (making them perhaps feel slightly more Tolkien then Lewis).  But also filled with Anime cliches, including the influence of Anime's most dreaded genre, The Harem.

I haven't watched a lot of Isekai Anime.  I tried both Konosuba and Re:Zero in 2016 and wasn't able to get into them.  If you count trapped in an MMO shows as Isekai, then I've seen 2 seasons of SAO and will see more when it's dubbed.  My onions on them are complicated.

Right now I'm currently watching In Another World with my Smartphone, via it's simuldub so I'm a few episodes behind most watching it, episode 8 I finished recently.  I'm really enjoying it, the number 1 of the Summer season was Princess Principal, but this show has been fun.

I never thought I would be this into a Harem show.  I've liked other Anime with the harem stuff going on, but never all that much liking it for the Harem, but rather preferring to imagine the girls kissing each other.  In this case I like that the show is seemingly building to a non monogamous resolution, as of episode 6 four of the girls have basically already agreed to share the main character.  And it helps that I kinda see why they like him, he is nice, clever, has a sense of humor, and I'm not afraid to say he's kinda pretty.  So not as Bland as the usual Harem protagonist.

The Haremness isn't the only thing that's blatant wish fulfillment about it.  He is also really OP, but in a way that is fairly well explained in the story and so doesn't come off as inexplicable as Kirito or the MC of Log Horizon.

This show, and the two 2016 shows mentioned above, are Light Novel adaptations, and so as expected are very Meta, but in different ways.  Those two were a Parody and a Deconstruction, two things that kinda overlap sometimes.

The Meta in a parody and/or deconstruction involves a scenario not playing out how you expect, or playing out fairly straight but in a way that seems designed to undercut the idea that this fantasy is a desirable situation.  Something deconstructive can have an ultimately optimistic ending, concluding it's worth it, but is still all about the price.

This show is Meta, it's definitely winking at the audience subtly at times.  But rather then spoofing or criticizing it's own genre, it seems to be an unashamed unapologetic wish fulfillment fantasy.  And I actually find that refreshing.

Today critics of fictional media are growing more and more obsessed with rejecting wish fulfillment.  Praising every deconstruction that comes along.

Of course a lot of shows criticized for being pure Wish Fulfillment are ones perceived as putting on a pretense of being something more, of having something deeper to say, but seemingly in the end don't really.  I think that's what a lot of the hate SAO has received comes down to.

This show has no pretense, it does not want to trick anyone into thinking it's deeper then it is.  And yet that does not result it becoming pure memetic trash like Eromanga-Sensei.

Digibro has expressed the view that Meta in Anime is lazy if it's not in some way subverting or rejecting the trope being referenced.  That simply telling us you know what you're doing doesn't make it okay.  Well I agree it can come off that way sometimes.  I haven't seen the main shows he was attacking in that video.

But I do see value in being meta in a way that purely and unironically celebrates the fantasy the show is indulging in.  And that is what appeals to be about In Another World with My Smartphone.

We definitely need art with messages and deeper meanings.  Including that fiction that warns us to be careful what we wish for in-case some cute silver tongued BunnyCat offers you a contract.  But I think Art that's pure wish fulfillment is just as artistic and worth praising.

Isekai is a wish fulfillment fantasy going back to Narnia, which was about escaping war time England.  But Lewis did have messages he wanted to send, and for fans who don't quite share his peculiar brand of Christianity, those messages sometimes become the story's weakest parts.

So an Isekai story that is unafraid to simply be about the fantasy of being sent to a High Fantasy world with your smartphone and demigod like magical abilities, and meeting a bunch of cool cute chicks to hang out with, is exactly what I need right now.  So in a way I like it similarly to why Digi likes Ponyo.

Princess Principal was great

It ended today.  It didn't do one of the few things that could have completely ruined it.

It was a fun cute Yuri show, with a lot of appeal to New Pulp and Steampunk nerds.

I highly recommend it to Otaku and Normies a like.  So I hope it gets Dubbed, and that Amazon fixes it's problems.

There is room to continue.  Plus room for more episodes set between what we already saw based on the Case numbers.  So show it your support.  If it's the only reason you're paying for Anime Strike, make sure Amazon knows that.

The Superman of Anime

To quite Unshavedmouse's review of Princess Mononoke.

"Ashitaka is probably the most purely moral hero of any movie I’ve reviewed. He’s utterly selfless, kind, compassionate, fearless, unprejudiced, polite, respectful to both men and women and only uses violence as an absolute last resort. He sounds like he should be as boring as a workaholic mole but he’s actually a very compelling protagonist thanks to Miyazaki’s skill as a storyteller and also the fact that the dude is a STONE COLD BADASS. Yeah, I said he only uses violence as a last resort. But when he does, shit gets resorted, yo (I don’t know what I’m talking about)."

In fact lots of people have said this about the character before me.  The character seems like the ultimate Jesus-Kun, Such a character should come off as annoyingly bland and perfect, especially when they're a Cis-Het Male.  But Miyazaki makes the character work, as do the Actors who have voiced him.

What's interesting is how strongly I agree with this aspect of how others review this movie, even though I didn't quite think of it on my own as I watched it (what I knew about the movie going in was mostly people talking about Lady Eboshi).  I started the movie accepting this male lead as I waited for the women I'm watching it for, and found myself increasingly enjoying his presence.

Superman is a notoriously difficult character to get right.  I get crap online constantly for being just okay with Zach Snyder's take, much less saying I prefer it in many ways to Donner's.  But rest assured I still think we are far from having the ideal Superman movie, animated or live action.

A lot of Snyder's haters have been pointing to the MCU's Captain America as a not official Superman character who shows how to do Superman right.  I enjoy those films and Evans performance, but I'm not that impressed.

So once again, as I often have over the last couple years, I find myself turning to Anime for the answer.

Before I saw Princess Mononoke a few days ago.  The main Anime character I would point to and say "That's how you do Superman right" is Yuki Yuna, the title character of Yuki Yuna is a Hero, why?  Well for starters read the title.  That Anime is one of my favorite anime, the most underrated of the 20tweens, the dawn of the new golden age.  And probably my personal favorite Magical Girl Anime.

Why she's like Superman comes up interestingly enough when the show is criticized, when people complain that there isn't enough of a reason for Yuki Yuna's drive to be a Hero.  Essentially the exact same thing as the "Superman is unrelatable" nonsense.  She wants to do good for the sake of doing good, if you can get behind that you're probably a Superman fan, if not, then stick with the Bat.

Speaking of the Magical Girl Warrior genre.  I have compared Sailor Moon to Superman in terms of creating a new genre.  But as far as comparing a Magical Girl as a character to Superman as a character, none beats Yuki Yuna.

But Superman comes in variations, they all have the same Origin (Kara no Kyoukai reference), but are a little distinct.  Yuki Yuna is somewhere between Christopher Reeve and the early Post-Crisis Superman, Michael Baily's favorite version of Superman, and possibly also mine based on the overall quality of the Comics.  Which shows you can have a Superman as ideal as Reeve's even in a story that gets pretty dark.

I however am someone who prefers George Reeves to Christopher Reeve.  But even more then that, I want a return to Siegel and Shuster's Superman, who was called The Champion of The Oppressed.  And that is what I got from Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke.

And now, I notice how his colors seem to be Blue mainly with a little red and yellow.  And find myself thinking "was this similarity intentional?"  Was Miyazaki drawing on Western influences in his most aesthetically traditionally Japanese film?  I feel like there must be a Japanese mythical of folklore precedent for a child raised by Wolves, but I haven't found it yet, first and foremost being raised by a She-Wolf is a Roman thing. 

There is nothing new to Superman influencing Anime.  It is well known the original Fleischer Superman shorts were an early influence, the second one arguably created the Mecha genre.  They are in the Public Domain now, so they should be easy to find online if you haven't seen them.

For the record.  The Lex Luthor of Anime is Giovanni, the Boss of Team Rocket.  As he appeared in the first series of the Pokemon, the prologue of Mewtwo Strikes Back, and especially Mewtwo Returns where he finally truly got to shine.  Since 2006 I have been pointing to Giovanni as how to do a CEO Lex Luthor right.  And in 2016, I still feel the need to.

So I had basically finished structuring this post in my head.  When I remembered that the big Internet Meme is saying Goku is the Superman of Anime.  No, he is not.  Not even close.  Maybe in the creating a genre comparison where you could then also throw in Amuro Ray of Gundam.  But you're not Superman just cause your home planet blew up.

Speed Racer 2008 is a great movie.

I just saw it and I loved it.

It's a movie that mostly flopped when it came out, but has become a cult classic, more and more people, especially people into Anime, have praised it, sometimes seemingly calling it the only Western film they really like.  And some people liked it at the time, I remember relatives of mine talking about it that Christmas.

What I love about it has a lot in common with Digibro's praise for it.  He did his main review of the movie, and touched on it in the Tone Shifts video.  This movie is also a great argument for the point of my Live Action Adaptations of Anime should be Colorful post.

I didn't see it when it came out.  My Anime fandom was in it's infancy then, mostly revolving around Noir still.  My nerdiness was mainly about Comic Book adaptations, so The Dark Knight and early MCU dominated the year, though I did find time for Prince Caspian.

Overall, 2008 was definitely a great year for movies.  Jut try to pretend Frank Miller's The Spirit didn't happen.

As much as I'm into Anime now, I still haven't seen any Speed Racer anime, since my taste in Anime is mostly modern.  But I do have fond childhood memories of old Wackey Races reruns.  And I love Mario Kart.  And I love the Pod Race in The Phantom Menace.  And I like Pro-Wrestling.  Speed Racer is like all of those merged together in a perfect Hot Mess.

Ya know how some Comic Book films try to merge the modern/futuristic with a 30s/40s aesthetic to make them timeless?  Starting with Batman89?  Well this does the same thing but with the 50s/early 60s instead.

John Goodman is great in it.  Matthew Fox has a very George Cloony vibe.  And Trixie was fun, she's totally worthy of being called an Anime Girl.  And the villain was exquisitely British.

I just watched Princess Mononoke

If I had a time machine, and could arrange to have Akira Kurosawa direct a live action adaptation of an Anime with all the advantages of modern technology.  This is the Anime I would choose.  It's a 10, I recommend it.

There are a lot of analytical things I could say about this movie, others have said a lot already.  But the main thing on my mind right now is this.

It's set in medieval Japan (The late Muromachi Period, 24th through 16th centuries).  Of the different Human clans depicted in the movie, the one most ancestral to the primary population of modern Japan (the ones associated with The Emperor and Samurai), are the most villainous.

The might seem strange at first.  But we do the same thing in the English Speaking world, in works based on Arthurian Legend, where the Angles and Saxons are depicted as savage marauding pagan barbarians.  Or even more generally when the Vikings are depicted that way.

I've seen in some Disqus comments sections people being confused by Saber in Fate/Zero talking about Britain falling to ruin, since it looks to them like Britain is still there.  But the population of modern Britain mainly descends from people who were King Arthur's enemies.  They took over the island and started calling Arthur's people "Welsh" which meant foreigner in the Saxon language.  Then later we Anglo-Saxons traveled across the Atlantic and did the exact same thing to the Native American, massacred them, raped them, and appropriated their culture.

Similarly is how the movie actually refereed to the Samurai as "Samurai Thugs".  Not the opinion we're used to Anime having of Samurai.  But remember, the Samurai are often compared to European Medieval Knights, and plenty of modern Western Fiction sometimes acknowledges that they were really the Gangsters of their time.  Like in The Tudors and Game of Thrones.

Perhaps this is not an appropriate observation for a Western viewer of the film to make.  Though it would arguably take a Western perspective to make the comparison to the Saxons in Arthurian Legend.  I wonder what Gaijin Goomba would think?