Forum - View topicWhen a god cries: Tragic deities in Anime.
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Andy26
Posts: 41 |
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There is a theme that occurs in some of my favorite Anime where one of the main characters has been promoted to the level of demi-god, either by their own doing or the result of environmental circumstance. Certainly a label for this character type already exists but as I am unaware of what the precise term should be I will use the designation of the tragic deity.
This tragic deity appears in some of my favorite series such as Death Note and S.S.S.S. Gridman. In the case of Death Note the role is filled by Light Yagami. Early in the development of his character I found myself sympathetic to his mission. I believed in his intentions to seek justice and even rooted for his success. There was however a turning point where he did in fact declare himself to be a god of this new world which he was creating. It was at this point that his eventual downfall began to escalate. The writing, while good throughout the series, took a masterful turn at this point. Within one episode I would find myself both rooting for and against Yagami san several times. An episode in which I realized I had literally been holding my breath as the end credits rolled. Light decided he was a god and his tragic story focused around his quest to remain in control of every aspect of his world, at any cost. Some of the decisions he made to maintain that role were so abruptly opposed to simple civility that the weight of them appeared to grind him down in the end. Heavy indeed was the crown. . . In Gridman the tragic deity is Akane Shinjo. Her introducing herself directly as god to Rika Takeda on the bus made for the best three second pause ever. Until she playfully teases " Got you... " but the truth is confirmed by this point, can't put the toothpaste back in the tube now. Akane's distress really held me captive throughout the series and culminated for me with the memorable scene of her standing on the ledge of a building. A god, who appears unhappy with her creation after several thwarted attempts to destroy it, decides to try and turn that destruction against herself. I love the rain in that scene, as if it were indeed a gods tears. Makes me think back now to the symbolism of the crumpled umbrella, protection from the rain cast aside by the hand of god maybe? The ending of this series though has to be perhaps my favorite moment in any Anime I have ever experienced. I won't even discuss it further here in case you want to catch this series yourself other than to say that it really reinforces the role Akane plays. A Masterpiece in my opinion. So what is it exactly that draws me to these characters? Are there parallels to my own existence I can draw? Certainly to an extent there are. Having battled with depression and self esteem issues throughout my life I can envision myself as such a character in my own story. The desire for power would be there but my own self loathing would almost certainly ensure that I could only use that power to destroy my own ambitions. Are there characters in your favorite series that you feel fill the role of the tragic deity? Were they characters you rooted for or against, or in my case, both at the same time? Are there any other thematic character types that draw you into a series personally? @InfiniteJest you mention a fondness for the manic pixie dreamgirl. While I do not know the references to the characters you give I do appreciate the fact that you know what you like and have put a name to it. I look forward to being able to watch them a mere 11 months from now and any other examples of the character type would be welcome. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23833 |
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The theme of this thread reminds me of that famous quote: Those whom the gods wish to strike down, they first raise up. The whole "the higher the fall, the tougher the landing" thing, I guess. And yes, Death Note is all about how power corrupts. You can start with good intentions but when you wield power that you shouldn't, it will destroy you. Famously, a lot of young readers/viewers missed the point of Light Yagami. They got sucked into his superficial charm and the wish fulfillment of being able to smite anybody you wanted and ignored that he became a monster. Something I'm sure the creators never intended.
That in itself reminds me of something I heard about John Milton's Paradise Lost. It's been noted that Milton inadvertently made Lucifer a more appealing figure than he intended, thanks to great lines like, "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven," an idea that resonated with a society that was moving away from "know your station in life and stay there" to a more individual-based consciousness where rebellion against the status quo was deemed noble. In any case, I'll come back to the thread if I think of any characters pop into my head that fit the topic. |
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Andy26
Posts: 41 |
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Blood- Great point about Milton there, "Paradise Lost" is pretty good company for some of my favorite Anime to keep. I get kind of embarrassed at how clearly undereducated I am in many things and know just enough to get by. I am a high school drop out who later got his G.E.D. in prison, a route not uncommon for people in my position to have taken. No!formal education higher than that though. I have been lucky enough though to learn computer programming and am now a full stack Java application developer. My love for Anime is what drives me to continue to attempt to share my views here and while my writing is a little unpolished at best and just wrong at worst I hope to improve as I continue. Thanks for your support and I look forward to reading your own posts as well in 340 days!
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23833 |
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@ Andy26 - there's certainly no need for you to feel self-conscious about your writing. I think you are expressing yourself just fine. I'm certainly enjoying reading your thoughts and I look forward to the day when you can post without any of your current constraints.
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