I may be biased, of course, being myself an analytical romantic, but the “Analyzing Anime: Is it Contextualizing Japanese History, Myth, Fiction or All of the Above?” panel at Castle Point Anime Convention (CPAC) was a welcome break from the banal panels that usually fill time at anime conventions between trips to the dealer’s room, screenings, and cosplay events. And who more appropriate to lead an analytical discussion on the socio-political affairs of anime than Stevens University’s own self-proclaimed romantic and Rutgers-/Howard-accredited social science professor (with backgrounds in US-Asian diplomatic history and policy analysis), Jonathan Wharton?
The panel’s goal was the exploration of the historical and political themes present in anime in order to surmise if the medium is being used, justifiably or grossly, to bring about a resurgence in Japanese nationalism. To do this, Wharton examined themes in three anime series: Rurouni Kenshin, Barefoot Gen, and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. The two former titles respectively express nostalgia for the justice of Japan’s feudal (for lack of a better word with less European influence) past and a more or less even-handed (if only graphically horrific) account of the effects of the USA’s atomic attacks against Japan in WWII. The last one, Code Geass, the most recent of the three series, shows a distinct trend toward nationalistic propaganda via, among other things, pills that let their users relive Japan’s “glory days.”
Audience members, like the professor, offered up intelligent questions as well as supporting and contrary evidence from various other anime series and current socio-political situations, regarding the suggestion that the trend is progressing towards using anime as propaganda to bring about a renaissance of Japanese nationalism. Many aspects were brought into question, including generational sensitivity/susceptibility; degrees of severity (nostalgia vs. regret); international influence (and even the myriad levels/directions of bias thereto); as well as the role of that innate sense of pride so evident in Japanese culture. All this in roughly one and a half hours.
There was never a lull in discussion, which was both lively and respectful. Audience members bounced ideas off of each other as well as the moderator until time wound down to its last few microseconds. Even then, exiting, attendees thanked Professor Wharton for leading the panel and praised him for the gift of proverbial food-for-thought when viewing a anime in the future. This insight and intelligent conversation regarding the analysis of anime serves as an effective reminder that we don’t necessarily see all of what we watch.
