Week Nine

Anime: From Akira to Howl's Moving Castle

Chapter Seven:

Much of Napier's chapters that deal with gender in anime and Japanese society deal almost exclusively with girls and women. However, in this instance, Napier focuses on men, asserting that the idea of boys and men in modern Japanese society is in flux as much as that of women. The breakdown of traditional modes of masculinity has led to a wide range of possible identities for men, most meaningfully expressed in the medium of anime, which can cross between infinite genres and functions as a nonreferential realm that generates high levels of viewer identification. Napier sees the gradual darkening of themes presented in anime, even in children's anime, as being directly related to the increasingly problematic portrayal of male characters. This is, in earlier anime, like "Neon Genesis Evangelion" or "Akira", used to be manifested in neuroses of the male characters but in newer works, such as "Fruit's Basket", "InuYasha", and "Wolf's Rain" is being portrayed via the diea of the dual self (especially two distinct selves: one human, one animal).
Napier sees current portrayals of male characters - especially young male characters - as having roots in the "puer aeterna" - young men not yet able engage with society and in need of women to give meaning to their lives - of folklore characters like Urashima Taro. She sees this concept as being inherently linked to the idea of the "bishonen", which Wikiedia defines as: "a Japanese term meaning 'beautiful youth (boy)'. The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in Asia: a young man whose beauty (and sexual appeal) transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation."
According to Napier, the relation of these young men in anime to their father's is also indicative of the downgraded role of the father in the family. Japan's patriarchal system essentially disappeared after the war, meaning that many anime show a loss of or longing for a time when the father figure commanded genuine respect. As a result of the war, masculine identity is now bereft of it's historical meaning and young men must experiment with multiple notions of what it means to be "masculine" in post-war Japan. Especially in anime, this often reveals itself in the search for a coherent, masculine identity, which often entails encountering tragedy and mishap as a part of the search for identity.

Dan Cavallero, "The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki":

Cavallero's article on "Howl's Moving Castle" can be split into two distinct parts: the first deals with aspects of Diana Wynne Jone's novel of the same name which would have appealed to Miyazaki and the stylistic adaptations he made in turning the novel into a film, while the second focuses on the more technical aspect of Miyazaki's process of animating the film. Not being too well-versed in what steps are required to create an animated feature, the first part of the article was of more interest to me. Cavallero points out that the novel's focus on visual imagery and inclusion of a protagonist who was "shojo" in reality but much older in appearance must have appealed to Miyazaki's thematic sensibilities. However, he still took liberties with interpreting the novel's plot and characters. Furthermore, Miyazaki's film takes a more optimistic approach to human nature, imbuing characters like Howl and the Witch of the Waste with qualities which ultimately redeem them once they are given the opportunit to act on them. Furthermore, Sophie herself visually represents the conflicting nature of her mental and physical identities, with her appearance fluctuating between old woman, young girl, and every combination of the two in between. Miyazaki also takes opportunity of plot deviations to further his own interests or themes, such as including many scenes of flying, focusing strongly on an anti-militaristic, anti-totalitarian message, and keeping the identity of his characters in constant flux. Additionally, although a very "Western" fairy tale, Miyazaki's film strikes chords with many Japanese values, such as group affiliation, loyalty, and obligation to others. In effect, Miyazaki stays largely loyal to Jones' creation but also infuses it with his own flair, creating an artistic production that complements the original work as much as it can be unwaveringly referred to as a "Miyazaki" creation.