So. There are quite a few anime that blend super cute, young,
happy, or even beautiful characters…with an unexpected amount of bloody gore
(usually with some psychological twists and turns – totally screwing with the
viewers head). I’d classify it as over-the-top
and unexpected gore.
JUST AS A WARNING: These clips really do contain a mass
amount of gore and death. (I had a bit of trouble watching tons of these in order
to find ones!)
Here is a completely surprising clip from Another, you won’t
see the death coming:
And one from a Higurashi no nakukoroni (When The Cicadas
Cry):
Now I’m just going to start off saying that I have avoided
watching both of these series myself. I started both, got a few episodes in,
and just couldn’t watch any more. Even looking through the videos on youtube I
had to skip some because I was not ready to watch nails getting ripped off or
needles getting stuck everywhere. I definitely don’t have a stomach for torture.
But I was very interested in why such twisted, bloody, and fucked up things
were being produced – and why they are popular in Japan.
Why do people like
it?
Japan can be seen as a high pressure environment in my eyes.
Their culture is very focused on pride, social image, and secrecy. I think
there are quite a few people that feel the pressure and tend to become more introverted.
This introversion leads to more time alone, possible social anxiety, and maybe
even dislike of social interaction. There is a very prominent aspect in
Japanese cultures of Hikikomori, Otaku, and shut-ins. To quote Eric Aloha off a
surprisingly good answer to a Yahoo! question, “People from cultures that are
more introverted and demand more personal space tend to be much more fascinated
with gore than people from highly emotional, expressive, and interactive
cultures… That's because the former have an easier time removing themselves
emotionally from the gorey images, but they want to feel closer to things that
are real and physical and affecting because they don't get as much that kind of
real physical contact in life.” I found this very intriguing. The thought that
people who are more introverted (or, to the extreme, shut-ins) can more easily
disconnect their emotions from things, allowing them to find fascination where
others might find disgust. Take the emotions out of death and you can find art.
They are also much more open about gore, sex, and other
things in media. Porn manga and gore anime are sold not usually in the back of
shops covered with a black curtain, but openly on the racks. (I even accidently
bought a porn comic in a convenience store trying to find something to read on
the plane home!) The censorship laws are a different in Japan as well as what
they allow on TV and in the shops. Desensitizing could play a part in why it is
less shocking to see there. I would still say that it is not the majority of
viewers that are interested in the gore, though. In regard to censorship,
something like this gets lots and lots of cuts and edits when being brought
over and released in America. I think it is mostly because here, anime is seen
as a thing for children by most. However, I’m hoping that while reading this
entry you have come to realize that it certainly is not.
Language corner!
血 - ち – chi
Blood
Kanji breakdown!
死 - し – shi
Death
殺人 - さつじん – satsujin
Murder
自殺 - じさつ – jisatsu
Suicide
引きこもり - ひきこもり – hikikomori
Social withdrawal; shunning other
people
Really creepy! The worst part was the sound effects. You bring up a very important topic. I think American kids see so much violence daily that they would probably be desensitized to these clips. It's very sad but true. Very intriguing blog...
ReplyDeleteSo creepy! But it is very true. I also think that seeing something like this on the news or actually happening is one thing, but seeing it in an animated drawing is a different experience. There are a lot of people that might be terrified to watch it in real terms, but when it comes to seeing it in Anime it is seen as "just a cartoon" so it's fine. It's hard to draw the line, in my opinion.
DeleteThe first clip was really like 'NO.... hell no... DEATH BY UMBRELLA!' followed by a sharp cringe after. Good job shortening your blog! And breaking it down again. The kanji breakdown is always cool to see as well. keep it up!
ReplyDeleteRight? I've seen that clip a few times over the past year or so, but every time I can't help but feel this terrible build-up of watching and wishing so much to change what is happening, but unable to do anything about it! Plus the situations where it is something so simple and very plausible in real life are the ones that freak me out the most! (Which is why I refuse to watch the Final Destination movies!)
DeleteBut thank you so much! I'm glad you like the kanji breakdown! It is really interesting to see exactly what each part means and how they come together to form new meanings. Plus the actual writing part is so complicated and beautiful!
That makes a lot of sense. I feel like introverted people are more attracted to gore and violence. I know I am! Have you heard of/seen Death Note?
ReplyDeleteYes! I've seen about maybe 30 episodes, I think, of Death Note. I never ended up finishing the series just because I kind of forgot about it. Haha. It is a good series! (Though maybe a bit too hyped up in the populace's eyes!)
DeleteI think its the only other anime i've seen on tv besides the Toonami bunch(DBZ, Sailor Moon, etc). I remember liking it because it was dark, and this blog reminded me of that. I kind of forgot about it too until I read this haha.
DeleteYeah, I think it was definitely one of the first darker anime titles to make it past all the English laws and on to our TV. (At least not to a time slot that was at, like, 4AM!) I remember they even screened the live action Death Note movie in some theaters here - even a bigger surprise! But a good one in my opinion!
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