Yesterday, Wil Wheaton wrote a blog post about Akira, the film that introduced him to Japanese anime. It led me to think about my introduction to the genre; his exposure to it was quite similar to mine, but our experience was quite different.
Like Wil, my first exposure to Japanese anime was Akira, which I saw when I was about 16. It did not appeal to me. Sure, the imagery was striking, but I did not really have much enthusiasm for the themes of gang violence, state-sponsored murder and supernatural body horror. Perhaps it was relatively uncomfortable viewing at the time, because Akira was the first example that I had seen of animation being used to tell an adult story - and a harsh, bloody one at that. I did not feel any strong urge to pursue and find out more about Japanese anime.
University did not change that, particularly because I spent my second year living with Adam Hattrell. Adam is a fan, but the impression of anime that I got from him only served to convince me that it largely consisted of nihilistic adult violence with unlikeable characters (looking at you, Golgo 13), or tentacle-based perversion that I just did not want to see. I've never watched Urotsukidoji, but I was regaled several times with the horror story of the night when Adam convinced / tricked IFIS into showing it, leading to stunned silences and members walking out in shock.
I don't think that my appreciation of Japanese anime changed until I was living in House Chthulhu. I cannot remember whether Linette or Steve had the copy of Princess Mononoke, but it was the film that showed me that anime had something good to offer - in this case a beautifully-realised fantasy adventure. Of course, after being introduced to Studio Ghibli, I soon saw possibly the best Japanese anime film - perhaps one of the best animated films of all - Spirited Away, which thoroughly earned its Oscar.
From there, Shayna introduced me to the late Satoshi Kon's films with Perfect Blue, and I watched Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I was not expecting to like GitS: SAC, because I was expecting a thin plot as a premise for cyberpunk battles, but my assumption was of course wrong. The politics and espionage elements of the series are two of its strongest points; particularly whenever the plot was following Section Chief Aramaki. Far from being juvenile, GitS: SAC is more like the bastard child of Neuromancer and The Sandbaggers.
At House of Plot, I had welcome help finding good films and television series from Adrian and Beth, who would watch a lot of anime. I would not watch with them, but I would be interested in some of the series that they recommended, especially the brilliant Dennou Coil - a very intricate, and yet child-friendly take on post-cyberpunk Japan. Adrian and Beth helpfully sorted the wheat from the chaff for me; I think that they saw a lot of bad or uninteresting anime, but in the process saved me from doing so.
Nonetheless, their help was not always enough to save me from being shown some very bad anime. Like Afro Samurai. Thanks, Tez.
Looking back on my experience of it, the most affecting Japanese anime that I have seen is definitely Satoshi Kon's Paranoia Agent, which had a lot of emotional impact on me, even more than touching films like My Neighbour Totoro. This tends to surprise some of my friends that have seen it, because it can be a confusing and dark series. It contains a lot of personal horror, and it in no way holds the viewer's hand as it reveals its story.
What made it so affecting is that I watched it in 2011, while I had depression. At the time, I was having trouble finding the will to get up from the sofa on week-ends, and felt pretty miserable about a lot of things. Watching psychological horror while needing psychiatric help may not sound very wise, but Paranoia Agent actually gave me the kick that I needed to start dealing with my issues. This may seem strange, since - when most people talk about media that gave them a helpful push with personal problems - they usually refer to something uplifting - something Capra-esque, not Kafka-esque, and Paranoia Agent is certainly the latter.
To give a somewhat simplified explanation, Paranoia Agent is a story about a society being consumed with stress, excuses and pressure, almost to the point of causing Munchausen's Syndrome in the general populace. The anime follows a number of different characters, who - as a result of problems in their lives - want to occupy the role of a sick or injured person, because it takes the weight of the world off them. Just as their problems seem insurmountable, a mysterious teenager with roller skates and a baseball bat appears and assaults them, hospitalising them - and thereby providing the excuse that they need to fail. However, as the series progresses, two detectives begin to find that Shonen Bat, the boy on the roller skates, is something altogether supernatural, and his victims start dying rather than getting the release that they want. The story ends badly for a lot of people.
The story presents two characters that blur the line between reality and popular fiction: Shonen Bat becomes a bogeyman to the general public, and the story also presents Mellow Maromi, a plush mascot (and a satirical take on Japan's tarepanda) that encourages people to "take a break". However, these fictions-within-a-fiction are flipsides of the same coin. While Maromi is an enabler for people as they let their duties slide, Shonen Bat represents the extreme way out that those same people need, after ducking responsibility gets them in a jam.
In my mental state at the time, I think that my mind wrapped itself around this meaning surprisingly quickly; I know other people whose reactions to watching Paranoia Agent is more along the lines of "Wuh?". It was kind of a harsh message to get from a television series. As I said, some people find that an uplifting message is helpful. However, what got me to seek professional help was something on television that said to me "take ownership of your depression and fix it, or fuckin' else".
Well, that piece of reminiscing went a bit deeper than I had anticipated when I started writing, but hopefully it makes for a relatively-interesting read.
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