Anime Thoughts: Fifty Shades of Wrong

Attack on Titan [ep. 6 - What the Girl Saw: First Battle of Trost, Part 2]
Um, ouch. No wonder Mikasa is so emotionless (well, most of the time), so dispassionately focused, when she’s had to experience shit like that at a young age. And I thought his mother’s death was traumatic for Eren! It totally was – it was about the worst thing that could happen in that situation. But Mikasa not only had to see her mother (not literally, but close enough) be killed a second time, but in a way telling her that even if you become stronger, there’s always a bigger fish. Now, she could’ve been ‘I have to be stronger, or I’ll be killed, nothing else matters’ and that’s it, but they didn’t, since she still sees the value of having a home, somewhere she’s wanted and there’s people she cares for, which is much appreciated.

Then there’s Armin. His best friend sacrifices himself to save him, only to have someone else talk shit about him, not saying it but clearly implying he must’ve survived because he chickened out. Not a helpful, hearing something like that when he’s in the middle of thinking about how he’s weak and only the strong can do anything.

They’re wrong, though. Strictly speaking, Mikasa isn’t, but there’s a difference between a mantis eating a butterfly, or even her dad shooting a duck for dinner, and the murder of her parents. The former were killed because living things need to eat in order to survive. Perhaps it wasn’t strictly necessary with the duck, but it was still done for the same reason. The same isn’t true of the slavers killing her parents. They were undoubtedly desperate and doing what they did because they could find no other way to survive, but the forces that pushed them to that were flaws in human society, not a biological imperative. And what else isn’t biologically necessary? The Titans eating humans. Sure, they do, in fact, seem to have a biological compulsion to eat people, but they can clearly survive without doing so. Whoever – or whatever – is responsible for them made them that way, for reasons that have nothing to do with survival.

Armin may think he’s weak, and it’s true he isn’t as assertive or skilled as Eren or Mikasa, but that’s not the only way to be strong. He’s hurt and shaken by what he saw – and the snide remarks of fellow soldiers who have no idea what happened – but he’s still able to pick himself up and keep going. Unlike poor Hannah, who can’t accept that she’s giving CPR to half a corpse. Not blaming her for being so traumatized, but it’s a counterpoint. They both lost someone close to them, but Armin can still function is spite of it. He may feel fear easily, but he still joined the army, and despite having many opportunities to back out he saw, and no need to join the Survey Corps, chose to do so. That’s more than the bullies who used to beat him up can say – they were opportunists who bailed whenever Eren and Mikasa came to his defense, or ones like the guildmaster, who throw their authority around like a weapon but can do nothing in the face of actual threats to their person.

The point is, and it does seem to be what this episode is saying, there’s more than one kind of strength. Despite Mikasa believing she needs to be strong so that she can kill those who’d try to kill her, she’s still channeling it in a productive way – to protect what she cares about as much as herself. Armin is afraid, but he’s able to conquer it. They’re both strong, even if it’s in ways they don’t realize.

There’s one thing I want to know, and that’s how Eren was able to kill the slavers. It’s not that kids aren’t capable of things like that – if they weren’t, there wouldn’t be child soldiers, but it doesn’t feel like something a kid raised in normal circumstances would try, let alone think of doing. Granted, Eren’s been born in a time where humans are facing extinction, and has a father who, between hints that he has some secrets and the flashback with the syringe, seems to be channeling a little Gendo Ikari, so I suppose it isn’t fair to say Eren’s circumstances are normal.

Also, part of me honestly hopes he is dead. Not because I didn’t like him, but because it was genuinely surprising when he got swallowed. It’s clear lots of people will die, often rather pointlessly, but he’s the main character, and we’re probably all at least somewhat conditioned to the idea that the protagonist has some amount of guaranteed safety. What better way to reinforce how desperate the situation is and that literally no one is safe than by killing off the one whom we’re likely to assume has contractual protection from it? Plus, unless he somehow manages to carve his way out of the Titan’s stomach, I can’t think of any way he could possibly survive that. But I still have a lingering feeling that he’ll come out alive, and if he does there better be a damn good explanation or it’ll feel like a cheat.

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet [eps. 5-6, Calm Day & Festival]

I called Dr. Oldham Dr. Ohm for some reason; probably because I was reading Railsea by China Miéville at the time (it has a god called That Apt Ohm; I guess that last bit sounds similar to Oldham or something).

Not much worth saying about these episodes. They were mostly Ledo trying to find a job; that and fanservice. The former isn’t so bad, because Ledo’s training is of no use 99% of the time in his new surroundings, so he’s bored and, more importantly, feels useless; whenever he ‘helps’ it’s Chamber doing all the heavy lifting. It makes sense, but that’s basically all there is to it – he’s too specialized to be of much use, but he still wants to help out. I didn’t have any problem with it, it just wasn’t very interesting. At least it brought about a decent cliffhanger.

Then there’s the fanservice. Really, what can I say – it’s fanservice. If you go for that you probably won’t mind; if you don’t, it’ll depend on your tolerance for it. At least, that’s all I’ll say about episode 5, since it was a pretty standard ‘beach’ episode (minus the literal beach because global warming), but then there was Amy and her friends dancing in episode 6. Seriously, what was up with that? The cheering was mostly coming from a bunch of middle-aged men. The Gargantians thought this was a good idea? The writers thought this was a good idea? What was the purpose of that dance anyway? Yes, yes, the purpose was to have shots of teenage assets, but what was the in-story reason? The second time Amy dances it at least makes sense, since she wants to show off for Ledo. I guess the festival dance was the only reason they could think of to get her in an outfit like that.

I just hope things start to pick up soon. There’s only half the series left – we can’t have Ledo meandering about on Gargantia forever. I suppose it’s possible they don’t intend to tell the complete story in thirteen episodes and will end it with room for more seaons, but still, we’ve learned about Garganita and watched Ledo figure out his place in it, it’s time for bigger things to start happening.

Flowers of Evil [eps. 5-6]

I kinda have to call bullshit on how Saeki “never got a chance” to talk to Nakamura; I’m pretty sure she could’ve done that at any time. OK, yeah, she does have things like cram school in the evenings, so she is genuinely busy much of the time, but why did she only have to approach her at lunch now, or never did so in the washroom like Nakamura did? And I sure didn’t see her coming to Nakamura’s defense when she was being accused. But nevertheless, she sounds completely sincere in saying she was worried about Nakamura, and that she didn’t leap to the conclusion she stole the money, so she’s still got a major leg up on the rest of the yahoos in their class.* She’s not perfect, but she’s a genuinely good person.

Now, if only Kasuga would recognize the former. I meant ‘not perfect’ as in she doesn’t always do the right thing, at least not right away, but that’s something everyone is guilty of at some point. With him I mean ‘not perfect’ as in she isn’t the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, whom he literally compares her to. Nakamura actually has a point – if he likes Saeki he should be willing to accept everything about her. I have no idea if she actually wants to have sex with him or if that’s just more of Nakamura’s mind games, but he’s going to run into serious problems if he clings to this notion of a ‘perfect’ romance – which apparently means ‘sex free.’ In a sense, he doesn’t like Saeki, he likes his idealized, ‘pure’ image of her, and that does both of them a disservice. It denies her agency and depth as a person, and sets him up for disappointment when he finds out it isn’t true.

When you think about, he actually has something in common with Nakamura here, in the sense that they both project onto others. He tries to impose his ideas of a proper relationship onto Saeki, and Nakamura’s insistence that he’s the “king of sickos” is an attempt to fit him into a mold. Since she’s the one who taunts him with accusations of perverted thoughts and comes up with ideas like making him wear Saeki’s uniform during the date, it seems that she’s the truly perverted one, only she’s ashamed of it and is trying to externalize it, or needs someone else to be the same way so she can feel validated. And since she caught Kasuga doing something perverted, she’s targeted him for it. Which is something else I suppose they have in common – both are ashamed of their sexual feelings and inclinations. For someone who acts appalled at the idea of having sex with Saeki, Kasuga sure manages to get rather fixated on the idea. Plus, there is still that whole ‘picked up and handled her gym uniform’ thing. Taking it home like that was still panic, not a consciously perverted action, but still, he’s in denial. Plus, I totally expect to find out in an episode or two that he still has the damn thing. Say, Kasuaga, didn’t you say you were going to throw it into the incinerator a couple episodes ago? And why did you have to put it in a box and promise you’d never take it out, instead of, say, throwing it in a dumpster when nobody’s looking? If you really want to get rid of it and move on, then why do you still have it? Guilt complex, maybe?

*Except Yamada. Sure, he started shunning Kasuga like the others, but he seems willing to drop it and move on if Kasuga is. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve had something similar happen to me before, and I’ve been more than willing to forgive the people who did it if they’re willing to move beyond it. Plus, he was still willing to sit with the group after Saeki invited Nakamura. I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but so far I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.