Love Is War!

“First you fall in love, then you confess it and find it returned in full. Ask anyone and they will say it is a wonderful thing, but they are so ... very ... wrong. Even with the cutest of couples there are power dynamics at work. There is a side that gives and a side that takes; one who rules and one who serves; a winner and a loser. If it is your wish to live a noble life you must not become the loser. Love is no game, Its War! Whoever gives there heart first will be conquered.” This is how the show Love is War starts.

This show starts as a parody of traditional romantic comedy manga, comparing love to war, but as the show progresses it morphs into a charming well developed story about two characters, Shirogane and Shinomiya, trying to get the other to confess their love to them in the most elaborate, over the top ways. In each story we follow either Shirogane's or Shinomiya's perspectives, listening to their inner dialogue as they execute their plot to get a confession. One of my favorite schemes is when the student body council (which Shirogane presides as president and Shinomiya as vice president) play a truth game where one person asks a question and everyone answers anonymously with a coin; heads is true, and tails is false. They all agree to be honest and when it comes to Shinomiya turn she asks the group if they love her in a romantic way. She knows that the president's coin with a unique year on it and this would be as good as a confession. if you want to know how Shirogane gets out of this situation you must watch the show and find out. This is how formula for most episodes one will plot a diabolical plan to get the other to confess their love.  

Most of the time while I watch shows I don’t laugh out loud, but this anime had me chuckling on numerous occasions with its exaggeration. If you like the romance between Jim and Pam from The Office or enjoyed romantic comedy's like The Proposal and any other of Ryan Reynolds chick flicks, then give this show a try. I have laughed more watching this show than most comedy's I have seen and was more invested in the romance between the main leads. This comedy develops the characters into compassionate, well-fleshed out characters. The supporting characters are a great addition and make the show better. My favorite characters are the other members of the council, like Iino who has a strong sense of justice and decency and wants her school to not decline in morality. Her interactions with Ishigami are priceless because he is carefree and has no structure for life, but he protects his friends (even Iino) from embarrassing themselves which usually results in him being humiliated. Iino doesn’t realize he does this for his friends and gets frustrated because his actions decreases the decency of the student council.

I appreciate that what is learned in one episode is continued throughout the show. For example, when Shinomiya feels like she is not in control of the situation and becoming flustered she trained herself to be calm by placing her hand on her cheek. After she learned this we see her keep using this technique throughout the show letting the audience know that she is being compromised.  

I am not the only person that believes that this show is the great. According to MyAnimeList Love is War is currently the highest-rated anime of all time--- passing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Finished airing August 2010) which has been at the top spot for a very long time. Personally, I can see why this show is number one. I see myself re-watching this show if I wanted to look for a good laugh. Before the 3^rd season I watched the first two seasons again for a refresher and I still got a good laugh out of it.

Love is War is a great anime that shows how entertaining anime can be. It has clean language even when Shirogane is learning how to rap, when his rap swears it’s bleeped out which made it more fun. The show is also respectful and doesn’t show anything inappropriate. Each season is about 12 episodes, each episode is 20 minutes long, each episode has multiple mini stories. If you like anime, you would like this show. If you haven’t seen anime or gave it a try once, give this show a try.

A Wound, a Stink Spirit, and Some Gold

If you are the parent of a toddler or two, chances are you’ve encountered your fair share of #%*£?~@:&!!&#% (insert name of horrible kid video on YouTube here). The amount of times my son has asked for “cars toys!!” or “hickory dickory dock hippo!!” only to respond “NO!” every time I ask if I have found the correct video would be enough to make me pull my hair out… if I actually had any.

Anyway, you can imagine the utmost joy I feel now that my kids actually let me show them some Studio Ghibli films. It all started with Totoro. For the first time since they got sick of the Cars films, they will actually sit (or chase each other around like Mei and the little Totoro) for the entire length of the film! It’s amazing. Life goals right here.

So I’ve been introducing them little by little to some of the other entries in the Ghibli repertoire, most recently Spirited Away. Side note and fun fact, the Japanese title is 千と千尋の神隠し (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), or “the spiriting-away of Sen and Chihiro”. Kamikakushi means to be hidden by the “kami”, which can be translated as “gods” or “spirits”. I wondered how my boys would do with the film, and though it took a few tries they actually watched it with me.

So let’s talk about the scene with the Stink Spirit. Everybody in the Onsen knows that something is up. Before that point everybody had been complaining about Chihiro’s stench as a human, but they quickly forgot when they smelled the foul odor and saw the mass of sludge and giant pustules, leaving a wash of vile liquid in its wake. Intent to give Chihiro the most difficult job, Yubaba commands her to show the Spirit to his bath.

Chihiro bravely situates the spirit, calling down to Kamaji for another herbal soak. As the water pours she notices what she refers to as “a thorn” sticking out of the spirit’s side. With the help of Lin, Yubaba, and a bunch of the other employees, Chihiro successfully pulls the thorn out, only to find that it’s actually a bicycle handle, connected to a mangled deluge of metal garbage that had somehow been hidden within the spirit. It was fascinating to see just how much gunk had been stuck inside, but once the final bit was pulled free, Chihiro saw him at last for what he truly was: not a Stink spirit at all, but a Luck spirit.

How often do we find ourselves bogged down under the weight of so much gunk? Whether self-inflicted or perhaps to result of circumstances beyond our control, how much garbage are we carrying within? Do we go along with the descriptions, perceptions, or labels other people place upon us, when the truth is that we are so much more than we might appear? The true nature of the spirit was only revealed after a LOT of effort, at the hands of multiple people… Sometimes we need help from others to get to the bottom of our wounds, and sometimes it just takes a moment of courage to get in there and discover what is keeping us bogged down.

Also of note, as water drained away from the scene, many specks of gold were left on the ground, washed out with the released muck and garbage. When we actually address the thorns in our side, what gold do we find? Further understanding about ourselves and the circumstances we are in? A greater sense of compassion for others who may experience similar thorns? An increased capacity to empathize with or support those around us?

Whatever the case, I hope we can learn to deal with our thorns in healthy ways and not let them fester. May we take courage like Chihiro did, and face our thorns and problems head-on.

 

Saviors on Mount Anime: Volume 1

 

“… I’ll bathe in blood. If that’s what it takes to protect my friends, I’ll take it. All the hatred, the disease. I’ll take it as my own and end it.”

These words were uttered by Shu Ouma towards the end of Guilty Crown. Do they sound famiIiar to you at all? Someone bathing in blood to protect his friends? Someone who offers to take all the sickness upon himself to end it? Yeah, that sounds kind of like what Christ did for all of us. I should probably mention a few things while introducing my topic here: 1. The savior metaphors I reference here are my own opinions and observations, and may be not at all what the original authors intended. 2. I’m not trying to be sacrilegious by comparing anime characters to Jesus Christ, I really do see his likeness in some of the imagery. 3. I will be back later on with more examples to share.  And 4. This post will contain MAJOR SPOILERS for Guilty Crown and Puella Magi Madonna Magica (or just Madoka for short). So if you are planning on watching either of these masterpieces and don’t want some of the key parts of their stories spoiled for you, back away now…

A Brief Japanese Language Primer

When I served as a Missionary in Japan, I saw little hints of the gospel everywhere. Now you may be thinking, “but Paul, Japan is a mostly Buddhist and Shinto country… what do you mean that there are hints of the gospel everywhere???” I’m so glad you asked, let me share an example. Take the word  示す (shi-me-su, “to show“) for instance. The kanji used seems to depict an altar with a sacrificial offering on top, and two drops of blood falling to either side. Not convinced? How about this one: the kanji for demon or evil spirit 魔 (ma) includes radicals that mean “garden”, “two trees”, and “devil”. Wouldn’t you say that sounds like a very famous story involving a woman, a man, and a serpent in a garden with two significant trees? I thought so.

Guilty Crown

Okay Japanese language lesson over, let’s get to the crux of my post already. Going back to Guilty Crown, I noticed a few overt symbols of Christianity throughout the anime. The first opening sequence shows a character set into a cross, singing lyrics that give off heavy Savior vibes: “Even if someone calls you a liar and tries to hurt you with heartless words. Even if the world forces you to wear a crown of thorns without even trying to believe in you…” Not to mention that one of the characters wears a cross… Up until the ending, I felt these items weren’t really up there in your face; they were more subtle nods to Christianity. Then, when Shu manifested the ability to take upon him the entirety of the apocalypse virus in order to save everyone, it felt much more conspicuous. I’m not sure if the author belongs to a Christian faith, or if he was just fascinated by Christian imagery, but I appreciated the hopeful overtones.

Madoka

Let’s move on to Madoka. I remember feeling dubious when my roommate showed me the first of thirteen episodes. Apparently there is a whole 魔法少女 (ma-hou shou-jo, “Magical Girl”) sub-genre of anime, and some of the artwork of Madoka was very “cute”. Well, I kept watching and was very impressed by how deep and dark the story turned out to be. Basically you have these teenage girls entering into contracts with a being from the cosmos where they receive special abilities along with a granted wish of their choosing in exchange for the duty to fight a whole slew of “witches'' plaguing the world. Hmm… this almost sounds like the principle of covenants and how we receive power from on high as we promise to uphold certain requirements…? Anyway, at the end of the show the titular Madoka enters into the contract by making a very powerful and selfless wish. It turns out that witches are actually transformed from the very mahou shoujo that are trying to fight them. She asks for the power to prevent all mahou shoujo past, present, and future from ever breaking and becoming witches. That whole sequence is full of beautiful artwork depicting this Savior taking the pain and suffering of all the mahou shoujo throughout time, including the friends that Madoka lost along the way. She did for them what they could not do themselves.

I acknowledge that perhaps I’m just seeing what I want to see. Perhaps my experiences in the church frame the media I take in, allowing me to make connections that might not be there. Regardless, I’m grateful for these pieces of artwork that help remind me of the Savior I believe in.