The Philosophy of Anime

The proliferation of various expressions of human existence encompasses a diverse range of activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. Their aesthetic quality, meanwhile, varies from person to person. For instance, as children grow up in a world abound with various inputs and schema, the sociocultural role of stories and narratives may vary from culture to culture, thereby influencing the kinds of stories children learn to tell. 

Still, for some, the most common forms of narratives in families are accounts, stories, and frequent retelling from oral narratives from travels, family history, or community as their stories tend to focus more on descriptive information related to family and personal relationships, and may often include reactions to and evaluations of events. As they mature, moreover, children are expected to develop certain moral skills to be accepted in a society where benevolent social behavior is a prerequisite.

Japanese animé, or animation created with Japanese themes and characters, provide a newer generation of children, Japanese or not, the means to develop these moral skills. The development of Japanese animation, in addition, spurred a great interest in war torn Japan as it attempted to duplicate what the Americans were already doing to entertain children of all ages. But unlike their American counterparts, characters were drawn to portray archetypal deities and cultural icons to maintain the Japanese mindset of prudence and tradition.

In addition, patriotic Japanese, whose intentions were to “Japanize” children attempted to include certain elements of Japanese philosophy in their craft. Thus, the five main elements in Japanese philosophy were almost always injected in all cartoons that have Japanese heroes or villains in them. 

The five elements are, in ascending order of power, 地 (chi) Earth, 水 (sui) Water, 火 (ka or hi) Fire, 風 (fuu) Wind, and 空 (kuu). This last is usually translated as "Void" when referring to the elements, but refers to Sky in most other contexts, and is therefore sometimes translated as Heaven.

For instance, the story of Rurouni Kenshin, of the popular Japanese Anime, takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story highlights a peaceful wanderer named Himura Kenshin, also known as the Samurai. The epic story begins with Kenshin wandering the countryside of Japan to protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin during the war.

As the story goes, Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people, including ex-enemies, while dealing with his fair share of enemies, new and old. The plot thickens when Kenshin discovers that his successor as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. However, many of his new-found friends decide to travel to Kyoto to help him in his fight. Five years later, Kenshin found true peace; he is married and has a son.

Stories like these sparked patriotism among the youth of Japan during the late 90s. Reminiscently, the story depicts war that the Meiji government experienced during its era. Historical records show, the time of the samurai began in the year 1050 when clans and fiefdoms battled throughout Japan. Consequently, Japan was beset by shoguns or samurais who attempted to unify the country through assassinations and bloodshed and established government(s) that sponsored Zen Buddhism and the values of bushido or warriors code (Tenshinichiryu, 1999).

Finally, the moral universe of anime that highlight the concept of war may very well exude a “Japanese View” for many of its fans. According to this view (anime style), children may be victimized by war, but children grow and also wage wars at last; and apparently all of these facts highlight the realities of war for many Japanese children, while romanticizing it at the same time through animation. Hence, the notion of killing other people through war is intrinsic to the mind-set of Japanese anime consumer. In a sense then, Japan today copes with the moral dilemma of war through a much contemporary format.

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