Reflection

By Anonymous

Hello reader,

    It has been about a week since I finished writing my blog posts, and first, I have to say that this has been an excellent experience for me. To give you all some context, I have been dealing with my trauma with my grandfather's death alongside other events that have happened recently that I would instead not go into. I bring this up because as much as these three pieces have been a deep dive into both the stylistic nature of anime and Akiko Hashimoto's takes on the different perspectives that arose post World War Two in Japan. These pieces are also, in a way, introspective pieces that have allowed me to rationalize the way that I work through my anxieties and trauma. In reflecting on "Barefoot Gen Is Far More Than Just A Victim Narrative" and "Gag Manga Is A Good Tool To Work Through Collective and Personal Trauma." I tried to demonstrate to you all that the mix of both comedies in line with tragedy can create these quiet moments of heartwarming human beauty. Moments like this force the reader to reflect and actively look at how they live their lives. We can reflect on our moral position by seeing a family torn by war come together even during the most challenging times.


     In many ways, I think Hashimoto would agree with my analysis on a personal level but then disagree with me when it came to the collective level. After all, not everyone relates to things in the same way, and it is impossible to have a universal understanding of something, especially when that understanding needs to go beyond the boundaries of a single country. It is this same reasoning why I question the argument I made in my post on Barefoot Gen. I think the reason why Hashimoto places Barefoot Gen into the category of Narrating Victims is that it is so abundantly clear. By looking at a single page of the manga, you instantly see the horrors of what it was like for those who lived through this experience. This interpretation of the text doesn't take any deeper meaning or insight, which allows it to be universal even beyond the boundaries of a single country. This interpretation, unlike the subtle metaphors about the sun being an example of the watching oppressive eye of the Japanese government, is easy to grasp and understand without any prior knowledge, which is why I slightly take back the statement I made in the blog post. 


    With that being said, however, Hashimoto's takes on Narrating Fallen Heros, Narrating Victims, and Narrating Perpetrators do then prove something that we should all consider. Later in her book, when discussing the education surrounding historical events, Hashimoto outlines explicitly the effectiveness of historical manga, which was used in schools to depict moments in history. 

For the most part, the academic manga offers colorful portrayals of 2,000 years of Japanese history from early settlement through the contemporary era in chronological order…As a portrayal of a discredited and disastrous war, there are no gallant national heroes or enchanting political leaders that brighten up and dramatically drive the plot. Instead, the stories unfold with accounts of divisive politics and deteriorating economic life that is rife with social conflict, unstable governments, an ambitious military, terrorist violence, rogue actions, and rampant poverty. (Hashimoto 105)


    Hashimoto, in this section, acknowledges the power of manga as a medium that appeals to a younger audience. However, it is much more than that. While manga is considered childish for its use of cartoon characters, I find it to be the perfect medium to reflect on and work through ideas and concepts. The reason for this is the fact that it blends both the narrative structures of books and the symbolic and subtle themes found in artwork. In having such a complex mix of avenues to present a concept, mangas are able to reach new ideas and arguments we may not have had the ability to describe simply through just a painting and or words.


So ultimately, I want to end this reflection off by saying give manga and anime, for that matter, a chance. Manga, in my eyes, bridges the gap which Hashimoto outlines that the "search for an integrated, coherent approach to heroes, victims, and perpetrators may allow post war generations to evaluate individuals…But [those narratives] coexist uneasily." (Hashimoto 80) With a mix of both written and drawn mediums there is a real chance to get at ideas which may have never been explored before and to that end allow for the narratives of heroes, victims, and perpetrators to coexist. The only thing we have to do as people is give it a chance.


Citiations 

Hashimoto, Akiko. 2015. The Long Defeat: Cultural Trauma, Memory, and Identity in Japan.

New York: Oxford University Press.

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