Tsao- Princess Mononoke

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Princess Mononoke is one of the movies that I liked more on the list of anime that we have watched in class. It is such a good portrayal of some problems that we have even in today's world in regard to nature v. technology. This movie reminded me a lot of Dr. Seuss's book and movie, The Lorax. The Lorax was a little creature that lived inside a tree, until the industrialization revolution took place and cut down all of his trees so that they could use it to make other goods with it. However, The Lorax did contain much hatred and vengeance since in that story, the industries and greedy businessmen naturally learned the consequences of taking down the forest at their own cost when their future fell at their own expense.

In Princess Mononoke, however, the message was sent across through the idea of Vengeance and Hatred. Hatred drives a lot of motivation, and at times can give people a power that they did not know they had inside of them. The Wolf clan and San hate Lady Eboshi (and all humans in general), The boars also hate humans, and humans hate between themselves when their interests are conflicted as seen with the citizens of Iron Town and the samurais. This hate will be a neverending cycle if nothing is changed, and even when one side is able to defeat the other side, this hatred will just keep spreading and haunting, like the curse on Ashitaka.

A point that I want to point out is the scene of the Boars all rushing into the war with one goal in mind: to kill the humans and win the war, on behalf of their forest. They were very rash in doing so and the comment of them heading into something without thinking of it, and not stopping until the end was made in the movie when San talks to her mother about going to help the boars (after realizing it was a trap). I feel that a connection can be made with the Japanese army, in the sense that they will fight to their death even if they know they may die, for their one loyal purpose. So this scene may be pointing out that aspect of Japanese culture

Yet another  wonderful work of art from Miyazaki, for all of his movies are very sentimental and portray a very strong message. San was raised in the forest, and loves her home and her family as if she was a wolf herself. This may rise in some identity issues, but one cannot blame her for having a hard time living with and as a human. On a side note, the forest spirit;s ability to take and grant life also shows an importance of balance in our system of nature. A good movie!

Tsao- Ah! My Goddess

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Ah! My Goddess is a film about the supernatural, divine world and the human’s world intertwining, bringing about new problems for both humans and gods. In the movie, Belldandy, a first class goddess trained by Celastine comes to earth to grant Keiichi a wish, and ends up falling in love with him. Because of their love, Belldandy has stayed on earth for the past two springs, and she plans on staying for another spring. Her sisters Urd and Skuld came down to earth to live with her since she has stayed here for so long.

Belldandy and Keiichi share a bond that is special and cannot be taken away so easily. Celestine takes away Belldandy’s memory of Keiichi with a virus, and this virus has infected both her and the whole Heaven’s computer system. With this virus, Celestin plans to destroy the Judgment Gate as well as the current earth, so that a new one will be created that has no suffering. Celestine’s intentions are not bad ones; he wants equality between Gods and humans, and to remove all suffering from humans- he wants happiness for the humans. However, by destroying earth with his methods he is taking away humans’ free-will and their right to choice. Humans should be able to make choices on their own and decide for themselves whether or not they want to love and be a part of suffering.

Celestine’s definition of happiness may not be the same for everyone. Ah! My Goddess in comparison to the movie we watched in class with prisoner Alex has some similarities, in which Celestine from the anime and the doctors from the movie both want to achieve a “better” state for the victims, but are using the wrong methods to achieve the results. By brainwashing Alex and forcing him to be sick whenever he watches television or hears Beethoven’s music, they are taking away his free-will and decision-making, just like Celestin is taking away the human’s rights for free-will. 

Memory plays a role in this film, as seen in Cowboy Bebop as well, where when one loses their memory, they have trouble determining who they really are and what their purpose is. When Belldandy loses her memory, she loses the part of herself and her happiness that she shared with Keiichi, causing her conflict when she sees Keiichi is no longer as happy as he used to be.

Tsao- Grave of the Fireflies

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In watching the Grave of the Fireflies, I think we can all agree on it being the film that brought everyone to tears. This anime takes place during the end of World War II, a time of alert where American bombers would fly by dropping bombs on neighborhoods and cities, burning large numbers of citizens. Fourteen year old Seita takes his little sister, Setsuko to hide in an old abandoned bomb shelter during an attack. Their mother, hiding in another shelter, was under attack of a bomb while they were hiding and got burned severely. Their mother has heart problems, and dies from the burns soon after Seito sees her. With nowhere else to go, the siblings leave to live with their aunt in another village. Because the aunt is so reluctant and unreasonably mean to them two, they soon decide to move out and live in the abandoned bomb shelter that they found.

Many elements add to the emotional appeal of the film. Setsuko portrays the many innocent souls that were hurt during the war; the audience is quick to fall in love with her naïve, adorable, and relationship with her brother. The touching scenes of Seito providing care to his only surviving family member and most loved sister help to develop the strong relationship that the siblings have. The fireflies, an important symbol in Japanese culture, represent both the souls of living things and mono no aware- that nothing lasts and the sense of beauty in things (since fireflies have such a short life span). The essence of the fireflies is seen in a couple scenes: when Setsuko uses them for light in the cave, burying the dead fireflies and questioning why death must be a part of life (in relation to their mother’s death), the fireflies as symbols of hope, etc. Another aspect worth mentioning in the movie is the tin of fruit drops.

The fruit drops are comforting to both Seito and Setsuko (especially Setsuko), and remind both the kids of a homey, safe, state. With the fruit drops, Setsuko is reassured and willing to keep fighting on with her brother. Eventually, the ashes are also kept in the fruit box tin, showing how important they are to him.

A story with such touching, remarkable emotions in it is a definite watch- one can really get a good sense of how war victims felt during the whole deal. Worth a watch for everyone! 

Tsao- Harp of Burma

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In the Harp of Burma, the story revolves around a young soldier named Yasuhiko Mizushima, who was sent to the mountains after the Japanese army has surrendered to the opposing side to ask for peace from the army in the mountains. Upon leaving his army, he remains missing and does not return to his comrades. We then discover that on his journey home from the mountains, he experiences a conflict within himself when he sees a land full of dead Japanese soldiers left to decay. On one hand he wants to desperately go back to his comrades and return home together, but on another he feels it is his responsible to bury his dead brothers and let them rest in peace.

From Letters of Iwo Jima it can be seen that dying with dignity is a big issue in Japanese culture. The soldiers in the cave killed themselves before the Americans could get to them even if they didn’t want to die, because suicide if it was in honor of their emperor and Japan itself was considered a noble and heroic act. This taboo is not seen much in western films because the idea of a hero in American cultures is portrayed as more of an “invincible” type of character rather than one who takes their own lives.

Throughout the movie, the personal conflict of doing what they feel is their destiny/duty to do, or what they actually want to do (giving a proper burial for the dead soldiers or going home with his comrades) can be clearly seen. As like in the previous anime we have watched, this topic is also touched on in Akira, Cowboy Bebop, and Perfect Blue. Mizushima feels that it is his destiny to help bury his brothers (of Japan) even if it means giving up returning home with his troop. Music is also an issue worth talking about in this movie; the soldiers would sing together when they felt no sense of hope because singing would bring them to a better state. It is important then, to understand that this art is universal and plays a role in lifting spirits. Mizushima’s harp is a part of his identity, and throughout the movie he is recognized by the sound of his harp even when his body is not present in the scene.