There is a lot to unpack here. Well written and though provoking.
-I would argue that Hollywood has not really done a truly Christian movie since It's a Wonderful Life. Yes, they've worked with creations by Christian inspired creatives like CS Lewis and Tolkein, but they turn them into works where the Christian aspects are more background than substantive. I would have trouble pointing to anything that is Christian culture today, as opposed to Christian religion. Even Church design and ornimation in new builds shows a complete lack of anything sort of culture and feels almost nihilist to me. Even the conversions I saw many Churches in Catholicism do several years ago from carpeted dais to marble ones always felt very dead and uninviting to me. I've seen beautiful marble dais in the Levant that felt full of life and beauty, so it can be done. There is just something in our culture that wants to kill off any sense of beauty, uplift, and inspiration. Whereas all 3 are at the heart of Christianity.
-I disagree that Anime is truly alien to our culture. When I was growing up 40 years ago, a third of the cartoons on TV were translated imports from Japan or done by the Japanese for hire. We just never knew it. Anime, in particular, has inherited a lot from American storytelling (as we inherited from the Brits and others) from the close post WWII connections.
-I've seen some Manhuwa (Korean) and Chinese comics and animations and those, to me, are much more alien. For instance the I read some of the Manhua Solo Leveling during Covid and ultimately gave it up in disgust. As the main character grew in power, he grew in arrogance and lack of caring for his fellow man and I could find no common cause or empathy with him any more. I've seen this happen many times with works from those cultures. Japan inherited much in culture from the US while these other cultures did not and it shows in how alien they can seem.
-I agree with you about AOT. The story had mutated, or my expectations weren't fulfilled and I was done at the beginning of the first part of The Final Chapter. The same problem I had with Evangellion many years ago. I felt bait and switched.
I always thought it was stupid to debate the merits of an entire medium. It’s like arguing about “music” or “movies”. There are good and bad anime
I’ve also detected the nihilism you speak of in many anime series. Friendship and overcoming evil for its own sake, set against a world whose cosmology is explicitly meaningless and/or evil.
I was very moved in the AoT scene during the rumbling where the crowd was passing forward a baby to save it from death. But what did it MEAN? Why?
It all smacks of the “you are stardust/create your own meaning” strain of ‘optimistic’ nihilism infusing the post-Christian West
If I remember right, Manga comics now outsell American comics. It makes sense, as most American comics have followed the heavily adult grim-dark subversion (along with rapidly deteriorating artistic talent).
>Whatever the case, I am most interested in what anime can potentially inspire over here, and can it contribute to a dissident art scene?
I'm helping out with that. I have an artist friend I commission to make art to accompany the stories I write. The dissident art scene already has plenty of writers, but what it truly needs are artists to bring those stories to life.
First, I was literally just talking with my wife on how impossible it was to find romance in fiction between parents. We could only think of three examples, Malcolm in the Middle, Bluey, and Spy x Family. It is really depressing how few examples there are of loving couples with children, and I’m glad we at least got one additional one from anime.
Second, I think there are two anime creators that have something interesting to say about spirituality. Miyazaki is heavily influenced by Shintoism and a lot of its themes are very prevalent in his work. Jun Maeda was also influenced by Shintoism, but there’s even more Buddhist themes in his work, which I think gives it more spiritual meaning and depth. I recommend Angel Beats as a good introduction to his work
None of this is to say that either are better than Christian spirituality, but we don’t have many of those works these days, anyways.
You’re right about the nihilism frequently on display. It hit me a few weeks ago when I tried Bleach and realized that, for a show based on the afterlife, not one character has motivations or even questions about that. There’s not one character disturbed by finding out that beyond death lies no spiritual fulfillment or transcendent hope, just more power politics and personal vendettas.
After seeing a number of shounen stories, I’m increasingly convinced that all the passionate enthusiasm on display is trying to cover something much bleaker they don’t want to deal with. They are, as we say, coping.
The most important thing we can take away from anime is that, while we’ve been ruled by people that hate us and all natural law for longer than the Japanese have, over there it’s not a secret. They’ve had time to understand that they are a demoralized people with a damaged spirituality and crippled way of life, living as a vassal state of an exploitative enemy and they can discuss that, at least through fictional representations.
People living under occupation, broken people trying to rediscover meaning and human connection, these are threads that connect the stories you mentioned, plus many more. They get the problem and are publicly acknowledging it in ways our mainstream is forbidden to. There’s chances to learn here if we wish.
Struggle of a good man trying preserve his corrupt homeland because he loves it and it's people and a Machiavellian tyrant who seeks to unite the galaxy under his benevolent rule.
Great essay! I agree with your assessment of AOT, though I only saw the beginning parts of the series. It was enough to convince me of its nihilism.
The Japanese pagan mindset is indeed relatively shallow, and often remains stuck to basic things like “the power of friendship”. Ofc that’s miles better than what we tend to get here, and Aristotle would agree that friendship is absolutely a worthy theme.
Hajime no Ippo is one of my favorite explorations of these important but non-metaphysical themes.
Fantastic essay! I didn't think I'd agree with your though on Attack on Titan, but it did help put some of gut reaction to the show into words. Have you seen "86: Eighty-six"? I view it as an almost type of corrective to AoT.
Not trying to be too nitpicky, but when you say West you mean American right? Sorry for the need for clarification, but this is something that always confuses and frustrates me when discussing with the Anglosphere.
From what I've seen Germany's getting a resurgence musically, France is rediscovering Bande-Dessinee and producing awesome ones (recommend 5 Terres) and Quebec is making better movies than America has in some time, and Sweden is making awesome Conan/fantasy comics (as is France), and so from what I can see it seems America has lost the 'Mandate of Heaven'. The rest of the West may well survive without the Anglo-Sphere, but not sure how long the Anglo-speaking world will last, as it is sadly running on fumes.
Moi, je suis Francais, I'm French but a proud Anglophile, so I'm going to keep writing, keep creating both in French & English fantasy novels and mythology epics for all. Because while there's breath there's hope, and we must cling to hope and work to revive what we can of our indepedent genres.
Whenever I refer to the West, I am largely referring to America and Hollywood’s sphere of influence. I know Europe is distinct, but it’s difficult on this side of the pond to tell where the boundaries are.
I'm more of a JRPG guy instead of anime but I think your analysis is on point. Are there degenerate stuff coming out of Japan? Yes. But is it any more degenerate than what the West pump out? I don't think so. In any case, Japan is literally an occupied country so saying that anime is something that's completely foreign to the the West is not entirely accurate (especially since anime itself was inspired by western animation).
Speaking of JRPG, I personally notice a trend of wishful thinking in the vein of "if you believe in the power of friendship and try real hard, then you can accomplish anything!" It's basically a meme at this point. But to be fair, it's not necessarily a bad message - the power of faith. Except that there's no substance behind it, that's why the medium lends itself to nihilism.
But let's be honest, Japanese media is not only one with this problem. I was on record stating that Warhammer 40k is nihilistic. I not only still stand by it, I can't help but feel I'm vindicated now. Yeah, faith in the Emperor is cool and all. But if the Emperor is actually BS deep down, then what good is it? It's all just cope.
I'm not just picking on 40k, I think its appeal is similar to that of Japanese media. And maybe that's the issue with anime/JRPG/etc, it has style but no substance. It's based, but it's based on nothing.
There is a sort of Pagan vitalism present in anime. That "might makes right" respect of health and strength is very refreshing compared to modern western victim/oppression worship. I agree though that a lack of a higher vision of the good beyond self improvement and "the power of friendship" leaves many stories feeling strangely unfulfilling.
The first part is exactly why the second part exists. Instead of being a golem of a subversive alien and hostile occupying force, you are a self actualizing man and are thus living a healthy life. In order to raise and not lower yourself, you must own the positive and negative instead of claiming this jewish demon did everything.
You touch on one of the reasons my love of anime has cooled in recent years. So many recent anime series have been founded on themes around unredeemed suffering, i.e., characters suffering and made to suffer to no good purpose beyond manipulating the audience's emotions. This wasn't always true, and my favorite anime are those that make a character's suffering and death a potent moment of storytelling.
That said, the one thing I love and still love about anime is that its creators are willing to tell stories that Western artists would never consider telling, and not just because of a lack of knowledge of Japanese culture, but because most Japanese anime creators are willing to "go there", to dig deep into human nature, to look into the abyss, as it were. The problem is when they look too long, and as you point out, the abyss begins to look back.
I haven't watched very much anime, but so far, every anime that I've watched shows strong family and friends. If they didn't have a family at the beginning, they did by the end. If they had a family, then by the end of the series, they had a bigger family.
Some anime might appear to be pervy, but a lot of that is awkward growing up teenage stuff.
Compared to Western cartoons of today, Anime is orders of magnitude better. We seem to have devolved to cave drawings.
There is a lot to unpack here. Well written and though provoking.
-I would argue that Hollywood has not really done a truly Christian movie since It's a Wonderful Life. Yes, they've worked with creations by Christian inspired creatives like CS Lewis and Tolkein, but they turn them into works where the Christian aspects are more background than substantive. I would have trouble pointing to anything that is Christian culture today, as opposed to Christian religion. Even Church design and ornimation in new builds shows a complete lack of anything sort of culture and feels almost nihilist to me. Even the conversions I saw many Churches in Catholicism do several years ago from carpeted dais to marble ones always felt very dead and uninviting to me. I've seen beautiful marble dais in the Levant that felt full of life and beauty, so it can be done. There is just something in our culture that wants to kill off any sense of beauty, uplift, and inspiration. Whereas all 3 are at the heart of Christianity.
-I disagree that Anime is truly alien to our culture. When I was growing up 40 years ago, a third of the cartoons on TV were translated imports from Japan or done by the Japanese for hire. We just never knew it. Anime, in particular, has inherited a lot from American storytelling (as we inherited from the Brits and others) from the close post WWII connections.
-I've seen some Manhuwa (Korean) and Chinese comics and animations and those, to me, are much more alien. For instance the I read some of the Manhua Solo Leveling during Covid and ultimately gave it up in disgust. As the main character grew in power, he grew in arrogance and lack of caring for his fellow man and I could find no common cause or empathy with him any more. I've seen this happen many times with works from those cultures. Japan inherited much in culture from the US while these other cultures did not and it shows in how alien they can seem.
-I agree with you about AOT. The story had mutated, or my expectations weren't fulfilled and I was done at the beginning of the first part of The Final Chapter. The same problem I had with Evangellion many years ago. I felt bait and switched.
I always thought it was stupid to debate the merits of an entire medium. It’s like arguing about “music” or “movies”. There are good and bad anime
I’ve also detected the nihilism you speak of in many anime series. Friendship and overcoming evil for its own sake, set against a world whose cosmology is explicitly meaningless and/or evil.
I was very moved in the AoT scene during the rumbling where the crowd was passing forward a baby to save it from death. But what did it MEAN? Why?
It all smacks of the “you are stardust/create your own meaning” strain of ‘optimistic’ nihilism infusing the post-Christian West
If I remember right, Manga comics now outsell American comics. It makes sense, as most American comics have followed the heavily adult grim-dark subversion (along with rapidly deteriorating artistic talent).
>Whatever the case, I am most interested in what anime can potentially inspire over here, and can it contribute to a dissident art scene?
I'm helping out with that. I have an artist friend I commission to make art to accompany the stories I write. The dissident art scene already has plenty of writers, but what it truly needs are artists to bring those stories to life.
Thanks for recommending spy family. I'll check it out. I do know of a single modern western cartoon about a good nonfake family, though. It's Bluey.
Great posts and I have two thoughts.
First, I was literally just talking with my wife on how impossible it was to find romance in fiction between parents. We could only think of three examples, Malcolm in the Middle, Bluey, and Spy x Family. It is really depressing how few examples there are of loving couples with children, and I’m glad we at least got one additional one from anime.
Second, I think there are two anime creators that have something interesting to say about spirituality. Miyazaki is heavily influenced by Shintoism and a lot of its themes are very prevalent in his work. Jun Maeda was also influenced by Shintoism, but there’s even more Buddhist themes in his work, which I think gives it more spiritual meaning and depth. I recommend Angel Beats as a good introduction to his work
None of this is to say that either are better than Christian spirituality, but we don’t have many of those works these days, anyways.
I'd add The Dick Van Dyke Show to your list of shows with romance between parents
You’re right about the nihilism frequently on display. It hit me a few weeks ago when I tried Bleach and realized that, for a show based on the afterlife, not one character has motivations or even questions about that. There’s not one character disturbed by finding out that beyond death lies no spiritual fulfillment or transcendent hope, just more power politics and personal vendettas.
After seeing a number of shounen stories, I’m increasingly convinced that all the passionate enthusiasm on display is trying to cover something much bleaker they don’t want to deal with. They are, as we say, coping.
The most important thing we can take away from anime is that, while we’ve been ruled by people that hate us and all natural law for longer than the Japanese have, over there it’s not a secret. They’ve had time to understand that they are a demoralized people with a damaged spirituality and crippled way of life, living as a vassal state of an exploitative enemy and they can discuss that, at least through fictional representations.
People living under occupation, broken people trying to rediscover meaning and human connection, these are threads that connect the stories you mentioned, plus many more. They get the problem and are publicly acknowledging it in ways our mainstream is forbidden to. There’s chances to learn here if we wish.
Any thoughts on Legend of the Galactic Heroes?
Struggle of a good man trying preserve his corrupt homeland because he loves it and it's people and a Machiavellian tyrant who seeks to unite the galaxy under his benevolent rule.
Haven’t seen it yet
Shame. Definitely check it out
Great essay! I agree with your assessment of AOT, though I only saw the beginning parts of the series. It was enough to convince me of its nihilism.
The Japanese pagan mindset is indeed relatively shallow, and often remains stuck to basic things like “the power of friendship”. Ofc that’s miles better than what we tend to get here, and Aristotle would agree that friendship is absolutely a worthy theme.
Hajime no Ippo is one of my favorite explorations of these important but non-metaphysical themes.
There are some similarities. 86 is actually a well-written military sci-fi light novel series.
Fantastic essay! I didn't think I'd agree with your though on Attack on Titan, but it did help put some of gut reaction to the show into words. Have you seen "86: Eighty-six"? I view it as an almost type of corrective to AoT.
Thanks! I have not so far.
And I agree with you completely about Spy x Family, FMA: Brotherhood, and Frieren. Examples of some of the very best anime has to offer!
Not trying to be too nitpicky, but when you say West you mean American right? Sorry for the need for clarification, but this is something that always confuses and frustrates me when discussing with the Anglosphere.
From what I've seen Germany's getting a resurgence musically, France is rediscovering Bande-Dessinee and producing awesome ones (recommend 5 Terres) and Quebec is making better movies than America has in some time, and Sweden is making awesome Conan/fantasy comics (as is France), and so from what I can see it seems America has lost the 'Mandate of Heaven'. The rest of the West may well survive without the Anglo-Sphere, but not sure how long the Anglo-speaking world will last, as it is sadly running on fumes.
Moi, je suis Francais, I'm French but a proud Anglophile, so I'm going to keep writing, keep creating both in French & English fantasy novels and mythology epics for all. Because while there's breath there's hope, and we must cling to hope and work to revive what we can of our indepedent genres.
Whenever I refer to the West, I am largely referring to America and Hollywood’s sphere of influence. I know Europe is distinct, but it’s difficult on this side of the pond to tell where the boundaries are.
Good point, I appreciate the correction. In a lot of ways North America is a behemoth in the Occidental world, just as the Anglosphere is.
I'm more of a JRPG guy instead of anime but I think your analysis is on point. Are there degenerate stuff coming out of Japan? Yes. But is it any more degenerate than what the West pump out? I don't think so. In any case, Japan is literally an occupied country so saying that anime is something that's completely foreign to the the West is not entirely accurate (especially since anime itself was inspired by western animation).
Speaking of JRPG, I personally notice a trend of wishful thinking in the vein of "if you believe in the power of friendship and try real hard, then you can accomplish anything!" It's basically a meme at this point. But to be fair, it's not necessarily a bad message - the power of faith. Except that there's no substance behind it, that's why the medium lends itself to nihilism.
But let's be honest, Japanese media is not only one with this problem. I was on record stating that Warhammer 40k is nihilistic. I not only still stand by it, I can't help but feel I'm vindicated now. Yeah, faith in the Emperor is cool and all. But if the Emperor is actually BS deep down, then what good is it? It's all just cope.
I'm not just picking on 40k, I think its appeal is similar to that of Japanese media. And maybe that's the issue with anime/JRPG/etc, it has style but no substance. It's based, but it's based on nothing.
There is a sort of Pagan vitalism present in anime. That "might makes right" respect of health and strength is very refreshing compared to modern western victim/oppression worship. I agree though that a lack of a higher vision of the good beyond self improvement and "the power of friendship" leaves many stories feeling strangely unfulfilling.
The first part is exactly why the second part exists. Instead of being a golem of a subversive alien and hostile occupying force, you are a self actualizing man and are thus living a healthy life. In order to raise and not lower yourself, you must own the positive and negative instead of claiming this jewish demon did everything.
https://shinichihaku.substack.com/p/make-entertainment-entertaining-again
You touch on one of the reasons my love of anime has cooled in recent years. So many recent anime series have been founded on themes around unredeemed suffering, i.e., characters suffering and made to suffer to no good purpose beyond manipulating the audience's emotions. This wasn't always true, and my favorite anime are those that make a character's suffering and death a potent moment of storytelling.
That said, the one thing I love and still love about anime is that its creators are willing to tell stories that Western artists would never consider telling, and not just because of a lack of knowledge of Japanese culture, but because most Japanese anime creators are willing to "go there", to dig deep into human nature, to look into the abyss, as it were. The problem is when they look too long, and as you point out, the abyss begins to look back.
I haven't watched very much anime, but so far, every anime that I've watched shows strong family and friends. If they didn't have a family at the beginning, they did by the end. If they had a family, then by the end of the series, they had a bigger family.
Some anime might appear to be pervy, but a lot of that is awkward growing up teenage stuff.
Compared to Western cartoons of today, Anime is orders of magnitude better. We seem to have devolved to cave drawings.