Anime and Empathy
i was first introduced to japanese media
at the age of seven
i would spend summer break at my
grandmother’s house those long hot
summer days seem to drag on for an
eternity
looking for a book in a drawer i found a
strange
i had unknowingly stumbled upon a copy
of dragon ball z vol
- the cover seemed fairly interesting a
bright blue car with the number 22
stamped on top of it
and the characters were dressed quite
casually with the one in the orange
floral shirt standing out the most to me
i opened the book and found out that i
read backwards and the characters were
drawn in a way i had never seen before
i was fascinated with the aliens
fighting and the way each blow exchange
seemed to carry weight with it
and how every panel was arranged in a
way to create a fast-paced scene
this chance encounter introduced me to a
new form of art
one that appealed to my boyish view on
masculinity with its big fights and even
bigger explosions i sought more of this
strange comic
i went online and found out that it had
an animated series
i would watch it on cartoon network’s
late night block toonami
and from there on i discovered the world
of anime
anime like most forms of media has
target audiences
shonen for example is a genre that
mainly appeals to boys between the ages
of 12 and 17.
shonen usually follows a young man’s
journey to achieve his dreams
and he does this through a summation of
power dragon ball z
is one such modern japanese manga
buildings roman
dragon ball z really provided me the
escape that i needed from my daily life
but what has most interested me is how
minority communities within the us
have embraced this series it’s really
become a mainstay of rap culture
with rappers constantly referencing it
whether it be the senzu beans
the flying nimbus or goku himself
however i feel the main appeal of dragon
ball z lies in how
the characters will often start off much
weaker than the villain but through
either intense physical training
or through intense emotion always manage
to overcome insurmountable odds
the way that dragon ball z has been able
to resonate with not only a japanese
audience
but with also young minorities
reinforces the idea
that art can be interpreted and
appreciated for diff
different reasons now if buff man
fighting to the death isn’t really your
thing
i would recommend the films of studio
ghibli
studio give these films have a childish
art style
but don’t stray from tackling more
mature issues which attracts an older
audience as well
this is best exemplified any south
takahata’s
grave of the fireflies grave of the
fireflies may seem simple
it follows two siblings satan and
satsuko and their struggles to survive
world war ii japan but to simply sum it
up like that
would be disingenuous the film touches
on many themes
but i want to talk about the lack of
empathy satan and setzko
are constantly asking for help whether
it be from their own
a farmer a doctor a police officer so on
they rarely receive the help they need
the war has caused
everyone to focus on their situation and
their situation
alone sata trying to figure out what’s
caused his sister to be so sickly
goes to a doctor and the doctor
dismisses his
her plight as malnutrition he gets
frustrated with this answer and exclaims
where am i supposed to get food the
story crafted by takahata places the
viewer in a very uncomfortable situation
it subverts the norm of most media
especially animation
that there must be a happy ending i
never really considered the effects of
war
might have on the citizens of the two
warring nations
and it seems that in most western
audiences it’s been forgotten as well
however this lack of empathy pervades
within the main characters themselves
they rarely acknowledge the death and
destruction around them
it is only until the death of their
mother do they really realize the full
gravity of their
situation sata goes to inform satsuko of
what has happened
and naturally she begins to mourn but
what seyta did next confused me in what
i guess was an attempt to cheer up his
sister he began to swing on a pull-up
bar
what i’m trying to get at here is the
strange reaction people often have to
death
see when my grandfather first died
i didn’t know what to do i just laughed
i didn’t laugh at a disbelief i didn’t
laugh hysterically
i simply laughed it was only after a few
days
that i cried putting my actions side by
side to satas
gave me a better understanding of what
he was going through
anyway on the lighter note i want to
talk about one of my favorite anime
mob cycle 100. mob cycle 100
follows shigeo kageyama also known as
mob
mob is a boy who possesses immense
psychic abilities
yet he has a number of problems he is
physically weak
he struggles to relate his emotions and
he’s pretty awkward
but he understands if he were to use his
powers frivolously
he would gain nothing from it and that’s
why he tries to improve his life through
other means
a part-time job weight training
advancing his social skills
and that’s what makes this god-like
being so relatable and endearing
you see mob works for a local psychic
agency
under a man named regan aritaka reagan
provided mob with the support he needed
to grow into a more well-rounded person
and it becomes difficult to watch
as he confronts reagan about his abusive
behavior
how he always calls him into work late
how he will
constantly belittle his opinion and he
just treats him like a child
despite his growth i’ve always struggled
with this dilemma myself
when should i consider my own feelings
over and others
it always seemed like this unspoken rule
that everyone understood but me
and it’s not a topic that’s covered in
most media it’s often expected that as
children
we must be simultaneously complacent and
assertive
seeing mob go through something similar
was quite comforting
who would have thought a chance
encounter at the age of seven would
leave such an impact
i understand that anime may seem
childish to some
people but i ask you in the audience
to pick up any new book show or movie
that may seem foreign
you may learn something new from it hey
it might even be that anime on your list
[Music]
[Applause]