The Human Condition From What I've Observed In Anime

A thought-provoking segment that I figured I'd play around with, being I always seem to get a message or two out of most anime. These selections are merely my representations given the anime I've seen in my lifetime thus far. If anyone wishes to comment with anime that they may have seen in this vein, you are all more than welcome! ^_^

I've seen some anime that have made me think about the nature of humans, and my recent viewing of Hell Girl (or Jigoku Shoujo if you prefer) had me wondering about the price that people put on vengeance, as though in their own hearts they couldn't hope to let things go or even forgive those who have hurt them. Of course, some of the circumstances were so severe in some episodes, like an episode involving a man who was framed for killing one of his own teammates from a baseball team by a bully that had a rather popular reputation as being the star pitcher of that said team, and in an effort to prevent his life from being the living hell that it was, he felt he could lessen the abuse by damning himself, yet destroying the source of his agony in the mortal world. Such issues left me to wonder what the idea of right and wrong, and how some of us can deal with it. If I were put in such a situation, I could imagine myself being miserable, but my personal beliefs prevent me from wishing to kill someone, yet even as I say this I still question how my own life would be in that said scenario when there is no proof to put the real culprit behind bars. The suffering of the Hell Girl herself, Ai Enma, also remains enigmatic and proves the sort of misery that entails the entire series she has ultimately embodied with her cold stare alone.

Another I can name off the top of my head is Boogiepop Phantom, and the culmination of people inheriting strange abilities, and some of the people under such influences inevitably become intoxicated with their power. In one episode, a man sees the worries of others as spiders on them, and with his vision he can grab the spider and eat it to rid them of their worries. However, even in his mindless indulgence of helping others, the results seem strangely sublime from those affected, as it appears this man in question has ultimately taken something away from as far as their personality is concerned. My thoughts definitely coincided with the idea that perhaps it is always good to worry and be saddened to some degree, as we all learn some hard lessons through the game of life. Even so, our worries are definitely our rite of passage for personal growth, to allow us the chance to think critically about things that never went right for us as we strive to do what's best for our lives in the long run.

Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Returns, what a strange example, but it did something to me when I saw it some odd years ago. The original Galaxy Fraulein Yuna was based off a video game, but the story basically showed me a snippet about a girl that saved the galaxy and befriended all of her enemies in the process of trying to rid the world of evil, proving how the powers of love and friendship could conquer all. However, the sequel Returns featured Yuna trying to befriend a rather hostile set of antagonists, a set of sisters who were throw-away machines designed for battle. Yuna's friends become scared of these sisters, and even as they cripple and hurt Yuna's own pals, she ignores the fear, and even doubt that arises when she tries to be friends with all of them. Sadly, the attempted friendship that succeeded with one of the sisters ultimately resulted in the death of all the sisters and the breaking of Yuna's heart in the process, showing all the hard work she's done in her previous OVA set come to a sort of sad end when considering how her latest adventure turned out. Guess not all of us can get along.

Now I'm going to talk about Serial Experiments Lain,. One thing I can mention with that series is the basic need that people have developed for computers and technology in general, with people making their own personas and even participating in groups to wreak havoc in "The Wired." Lain herself only begins to develop herself in this realm as the series moves on, and she even notices the suicides that have occurred with the existence of such a medium. The detachment with Lain's life outside The Wired only shows just how much more interest people have taken with the technological playground that had suddenly developed.

Colorful, from the same director as Lain, shows the sort of autistic behavior that some perverted people ultimately undergo. The need for some men to see women's undergarments or even cleavage leads them to go on excrutiating adventures with their eyes to conquer the woman's body with what little resources and cunning they have. Men who are driven headfirst with sexual urges that seem to play them like instruments for anything to satisfy themselves, and yet, they ultimately have no real conversational abilities to approach any further than a safe distance. A strange but interesting portrait of a pervert sub-culture that only wishes for what it can have, and finds salvation in knowing it's at least there.

In a rather interesting sequence, there's even a strange fascination two men take in the way a female teacher of theirs moves her tongue as she says the letters L and R.

Such things can also be said of the bleak underworld created by Yasuomi Umetsu's Kite, in which the main girl Sawa is treated like an object and used by her corrupt employer, in which even her own mental state appears to be static after her mind and body become abused. However, she also shows a sign of wishing to leave when she notices a man who shares her same profession, in which he appears just as helpless as she does to her employer. Kite made me think about the dark side of humanity, and some people out there probably show no consideration for what they do, as if all they know is themselves, and that the world around them is merely dressing for what they really see, which is just themselves.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a tough cookie for me to talk about, mostly because its characters are always having something going on with themselves, with the main character going through the awful dilemma of being used by his father and then treated with absolute coldness after all of his hard work. The nature of the world behind Evangelion is hard to bear, as the world is always being threatened, the creatures that attack the city get stronger and stronger with each appearance, and we have everyone trying to live a sensible life with all the chaos. The interactions between the people in Evangelion suggest that their lives are ultimately so chaotic, and a few have such hard pasts to boot, that their fears and for some even their self-esteem remain obstacles to themselves and the world around them. Shinji for me, most of all, remains the central focus to such an idea.

Koi Kaze is also a rather challenging anime for me to talk about, it shows the chance meeting a brother and sister, who were quite unaware of the relation at first, take an intimate liking to after a fateful encounter. The troubles with both their lovelives also play a role in their attraction for each other, especially since the brother in question helps with the planning of weddings for a profession and had ultimately found himself out of a relationship because something was no longer there for him. The existence of love within the human mind and body, and the trouble it sometimes brings to people, especially those who find unfortunate circumstances surrounding it when they meet someone special, can sometimes find some wonderful lessons when they learn to understand their own feelings and grow from them in the long run.

I hope this segment was interesting for all of you, and I hope we can discuss this further if anyone wishes to chime in with some thoughts! ^_^