Japan’s cybernetic fantasy:
Pete Miao
301239638
IAT 206W E102
The “mech” genre of anime has a special place in Japan’s pop culture. From animes such as 1950s Astroboy and more recent releases such as the Evangelion rebuilds by Gainax, robots have been in Japan’s pop culture for more than half a century. As such, I believe that to build a protagonist that would be popular in Japan, I would imagine that the protagonist would be related to cybernetics in one way or another. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the protagonist needs to be a cyborg or an android, but it could be a pilot of a giant robot. This is interesting, because these kinds of animes and mangas portray more than Japan’s love of technology. It also displays glimpses of spiritual Shinto ideology, and tackles questions such as Platonic sex, and how a mechanical being identifies itself if given the ability to think and feel like a human. This isn’t all we need to consider though to make this work. But as with every story, there is some form of conflict that affects the character in a personal manner. This can and has been done in many mecha animes, for instance, Ghost in the Shell has expressed a person versus themselves sort of conflict, while Go Nagai’s Shin Getter Robo: Armageddon utilizes a conflict akin to man versus nature. By creating this kind of character, setting and conflict, we have quite a bit of room to maneuver in terms of character development.
In Japanese culture, cybernetics and technology has been one of the most prolific when it comes to
animes. To start off this proposal, we would first need to consider the following. First would be the definition of a cyborg, or rather, what kind of cyborg should our protagonist be. According to the Cyborg Manifesto (1991) by Donna Harraway, and by common knowledge, a cyborg is a hybrid of the biological and mechanical, and a creature of social reality as well as fiction.(Harrraway, 1991, p.149) Chris Gray goes further and categorizes the types of cyborgs that are common in comic and fictional media. To Chris Gray, cyborgs can be categorized into the broad categories of simple controllers, bio-tech integrators, and genetic cyborgs.(Oehlert, 1995, p.221) He rationalizes these divisions in which the levels of integration is similarly described as:
(Oehlert, 1995, p.221)
The first kind of cyborg that we can use is the simple controllers group of cyborgs. What this means is that the cyborg utilizes technological additions to create or augment their abilities.(Oehlert, 1995, p.222)
In a later part of Oehlert’s essay, a sub-category of this group of cyborg includes the controller/suit cyborgs, in which the powers of the cyborg are for the most part, removable.(Oehlert, 1995, p.222) This includes exoskeletons and powered armor, such as those in Infinite Stratos and Appleseed. In both of these animes, these suits have given normal human beings with augmented abilities that include enhanced strength, agility and flight. Appleseed, is one of the best japanese representations of these “controller suit” cyborgs, where the main protagonist, Deunan, who is already a veteran in urban combat is given an exo-skeletal suit after being inducted into the city of Olympia. Her suit combined with her experience in the art of combat, thus makes her into a killing machine. Infinite Stratos takes a similar idea and makes it much more tame. Compared with the heavily armored suits that also provide durability to their pilots in Appleseed, Infinite Stratos uses suits that are much more exposed, relying on energy shields that can only take a few hits before it is out of power. None the less these suits do provide us with an idea of Japanese suit based cyborgs. Another subcategory of the simple controller cyborg is the implant /controller cyborg, where cyber-technology is utilized in concert with the decision making of the human Brain.(Oehlert, 1995, p.222) Infinite Stratos uses this idea minutely, in which the armor can be “called” to the pilots as long as they had an accessory with them. A better example of this cyborg is in the anime, Project ARMS. In Project ARMS, the main character has lost his right arm, and volunteers for an experimental surgery that injects nanomachines into him. Unbeknownst to him, this gives him powers that changes him into a weapon. Through this process, the main protagonist has become a mix of man and machine. Another, more contemporary example of this subtype of cyborg is in the anime Fullmetal Alchemist. Although this isn’t placed in the typical setting in which we would associate cyborgs and the like to be in, it does show the idea quite well. In this anime, the main protagonist, Edward Elric, lost his arm and leg in a failed attempt at resurrection through alchemical means. In order to maintain his mobility, he has to accept mechanized prosthetics that allow him to have the same dexterity and mobility as a human being. This leads to an argument involving the concept of prosthetics, especially when it comes to the acceptance and the function of prosthetics would be in Japanese culture. Since the time of the ancient Egyptian civilization, prostheses were developed for function, cosmetics, and a psycho-spiritual sense of wholeness. (Thurston, 2007) In Japan, the idea of amputation viewed as a pitiful circumstance and can be argued to be quite feared in Japan. (Japan Today, 2015) Thus this would emphasize the need to gain a sense of wholeness, as well as a cosmetic need to show that a person is whole. There are other Japanese media that emphasize this idea. Looking back at Full Metal Alchemist, we can see that the prosthetics that Edward Elric utilizes are not simple, but rather elaborate. Not to mention, that the prosthetic is made to look as human as possible, with fully dexterous fingers and being made with the exact proportions of a human hand. As we can see in this fan made model of Edward’s arm, not only does the arm resemble the human form of an arm, it also shows clear cosmetic qualities in terms of form and beauties that are found in old medieval or samurai armors. Take for instance the upper arm, the extra armor plates that are attached to the arm are akin to the plates of the samurai armor. The only difference between the two is the shape of the plate. Another connection that we can make is the fluted section in the lower arm, which aesthetically look like the fluted armor of the old Maximilian armors from the Holy Roman Empire. But beyond the beauty, also lies an element of function. Take the anime Cobra for example, in which the main character has a prosthetic left lower arm. In this anime, the prosthetic arm hides a secret, a integrated gun. This not only serves the function of prosthetics to maintaining a person’s “handy” qualities, but it can also serve as a weapons platform in which our hero can call upon at any given notice. This represents Japan’s idea of the adaptability of prosthetics, as they can be modified to carry anything from hidden weapons like guns or unnaturally powerful arm cannons like One Piece. It seems that through examples such as these, we are inadvertently seeing a glimpse of Japan’s idea of prosthetics.
Whereas controller cyborgs are relatively easier to describe, the next broad category, which is the Bio-Tech Integrator. For this cyborg, the systems that are connected to them cannot be removed and are often not fully explained.(Oehlert, 1995, p.224) As such, it can be argued that the anime that was noted earlier Project ARMS, is more of an example of the Bio-Tech Integrators, rather than that of the implant controller. It is not fully explained how the nanomachines that were implanted into the characters had the ability to mutate their subjects or how many of these nanobots were required to make this transformation possible. Not only that, these nanobots seem to have endless supply of energy, which can leave many who watch this, how are these nano machines powered? One thing that is clear however is that these Biotech Integrators embrace the concept of symbiosis, in which two parts work or cooperate to ensure each others survival. Symbiosis can be seen in nature, such the relationship between the poison anemone, and the clownfish that dwells within it’s tentacles. Japan takes this concept and applied it to other forms of media. For example, a good example of this symbiotic relationship is in the manga Parasyte, in which the main character manages to stop an alien parasite from reaching his brain, and thus must live as a symbiotic pair in which the alien, Migi, gives the protagonist strength and limited regeneration while the host human serves to become Migi’s means of transportation and sustenance. It may seem that this is more of a parasitic relationship, but more often than not, this is symbiotic relationship as our human host has to deal with full parasitic creatures that feed on human flesh. You may be asking at this point, why is this concept so quintessential when talking about biotech integrators? This concept is quintessential, because as stated earlier in this essay through a reference by Oehlert, in which the system cannot be removed, and so the character must learn to live with the integrated parts that are fused with them. Another quintessential idea for the Biotech Integrator, is the power to alter their cyborg system (Oehlert, 224) Take the anime Ghost in the Shell, in which Biotech Integrators are common place. One of the main protagonists, Matou is an excellent example of a Biotech Integrator. This is because her body is purely cybernetic with the exception of her brain, which still allows her to take a fatalistic view on her existence. Because of her cybernetic body, her body can be modified to take on a variety powers and augments, such as going invisible. This capability to have multiple components of cybernetic implants can be seen with just about every cyborg in the Ghost in the Shell series. Examples being hands that are able to transform into hacking technology and the ability to carry weapons that would be impossible for a human being to do.
The last kind, and probably the most interesting kind of cyborg that is left is the genetic cyborg. These are unique in the fact that they are not modified by technological cybernetics, but that they were modified in the purposeful alteration of their genetic code.( Oehlert, 224) What this means is that the characters don’t have visible cybernetic or prosthetic components, but rather, they have “super powers”. Japan does this in a similar manner as the western culture. Whereas genetic cyborgs in the western world would include Superman, Spiderman and the Hulk, these western genetic cyborgs are often created by accident or willingly due to a sense of justice or nationalistic pride like Captain America. In Japanese media, if we look at animes such as “A Certain Scientific Railgun” these were intentional modifications by scientists to create superpowers for teens as enrollment protocol for the school system. But what makes genetic cyborgs unique is that in pop culture in general, they are not considered as cyborgs, but superheroes and supervillains. As a matter of fact, anime is seems to interpret these cyborgs for what they are, beings that have been modified on a genetic level. Another example of this is the mecha anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Contrary to popular belief, the EVAs are not mechanical robots, merely their “entry plug” control system is mechanical as well as the armor they wear. But inside that suit of armor holds a genetically created being, made from human subjects, transformed into beings that become the key to mankind’s survival against the Angels. We can confirm this with the protagonist’s, Shinji Ikari’s, mother Yui. As explained in the third rebuild of the series, Shinji is informed that EVA unit one was a result of an experiment that fused the soul of his mother into the unit, absorbing her old physical body whilst keeping her spiritual being safe within the confines of the new unit. This is a unique take on the creation of a genetic cyborg, because of it can be taken as an act of reincarnation, where her soul is reincarnated into a man made beast, which will be explained later.
For now however, I would like to go on to the trouble of being a cyborg and what implications are made when we look at a cyborg. According to Haraway, the cyborg myth is one of transgressed boundaries potent fusions and dangerous possibilities that might be explored as a part of a needed political work. (Haraway, p.154) According to her, multiple perspectives can be created such as the imposition of a grid of control or the acceptance of cyborgs and their kinship of animal and machine. But this only raises more questions, what is Japan’s perspective on the cyborg myth. The trouble is that when it comes to this kind of subject, Japan comes up with a variety of answers and perspectives. For this, a good example to look at would be the anime Chobits due to its plot and the implications that it presents when dealing with human and cyborg relations.
In Harraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, she mentions Chela Sandoval, who formed the political identity known as ‘oppositional consciousness’ which was born of the skills for reading webs of power by those refused stable membership in the social categories of race, sex or class. (Harraway, p. 155) But this poses a problem for cyborgs, in terms of if they have gender, and in what class are they relegated to if launched into a society. Chobits answers this question quite clearly, as Lemarre points out that the anime was intended to be a variation of ‘the boy living with a mysterious girl’.( Lemarre, 2006, p.47) But that is only the surface of how Japan views gender. For Japan, the idea of ‘bending gender’ has been around since the beginning of manga and anime.(Lemarre,p.48) The examples that Lemarre puts forth are the animes 1949’s Metropolis in which the main jinzo ningen, or man made human can switch genders with the flick of a switch, and Ribbon no kishi (1953-1956), in which our female protagonist is garbed as a knight. But there are others in which women have taken on the roles of men or even changed genders. One would be the anime Kamphfer, in which the protagonist, a 16 year old boy is changed into a female warrior endowed with powers. Another would be Ranma ½, in which our protagonist switches genders after going into a magical hot spring. In Infinite Stratos, the suits can only be controlled by women with very few exceptions, thus changing the role of the once superior man into a position in which women are superior. This says alot about the Japanese view on gender and sexuality in terms of its youth culture, because as Lemarre says, “ the bulk of anime and manga production plays and bends the normative categories of sexuality, inventing and reinventing genre paradigms in order to outpace the imposition of static categories”.(Lemarre, p.48) With this ability to reinvent a genre, it leads us to ask the question of how it can open critical thinking with respect to genre.(Lemarre p.49) Chobits is an anime in which this question is crucial. This is mainly because the relationship that is made in the series is that of a non-human woman and a man. According to Lemarre, this leads to excessive trouble with sexuality as it provides insight into how perversion emerges and operates in relation to new technologies. (Lemarre, p.50) In the anime, right out of the gates, this question is being implied to the audience, as in the beginning, we see our male protagonist, reach in between the “persacom’s” legs, fingers crooked as if pressing into a vagina. Apparently however, in that area, is the switch to turn her on. As the anime goes on however, a romantic relationship is built as ‘Chi’ our female non-human and Motosuwa, our male protagonist begin to explore Chi’s origins. Additional outside forces such as the author who talks to Chii directly in the form of child stories, presents a problem with this relationship as the plot begins to revolve around her secret.
This leads us to the subject of Platonic sex, which Lemarre describes in great detail. According to Lemarre, Chi has become the what Luce Irigaray(1985) calls the ‘sex which is not one’ due to the fact that despite being a robot, she functions more like a female woman who seeks elaboration to determine who she is. (Lemarre, p.54) In Layman’s terms, she herself has become a metaphysical problem. As Lemarre continues, the resolution is opposite to what Zizek (1991) speculates to be a Lacanian proposition of the ‘Woman who doesn’t exist.’ (Lemarre, p.54) To Zizek, the normal resolution to the metaphysical problem Chi has become is that she has become a symptom to our main character, Motosuwa. (Lemarre, p.55) In the anime and the manga, this resolution seems to fit, but Lemarre brings up a good point. What happens to Chi in this relationship? Although in appearance, it may seem like Chi is the symptom of Motosuwa, but as Lemarre quotes later, Zizek depicts the fate of these “femme fatale” (Lemarre, p.55):
The destiny of the femme fatale in film noir, her final hysterical breakdown, exemplifies perfectly the Lacanian proposition that Woman does not exist: she is nothing but the symptom of man, her powerful fascination masks the void of her nonexistence, so that when she is finally rejected, her whole ontological consistency is dissolved. (p. 65)
The end of Chobits is different, as Chi’s button holds the premise of a breakdown of the world, because she not only has the breakdown of a woman, but as the series implies, she is also the breakdown of contemporary communication networks.(Lemarre p.55) This is significant in the argument of the sexuality of the cyborg myth, as it makes this idea of the blurring of biological and mechanical reproduction a reality. What this idea brings to mind is that it creates a complication of origin, since, as Lemarre argues, identities become in moored and impossible to ascribe.(Lemarre, p.55) However, as viewer knows the romantic convention of the trope ‘boy lives with mysterious girl’ many who watch the series or read the manga know that the story will not have a sad ending. However, in both forms of media, the story ends short of marriage, with the relationship going only as far as boyfriend and girlfriend. In the anime, this isn’t clearly presented but the manga does show why. In the manga, it clearly states that the button between her legs is a reset button, so if there were to be sexual intercourse between the two, all the experiences that were shared in the series would be lost to Chi.(Lemarre, p.56) So in a way, Zizek is correct about the fate of femme fatales, as Chi would have to either face rejection or the loss of her memory depending if Motosuwa and Chi decide on pursuing an intimate and sexual relationship.
Moving on from the intricacies of Cyborgs, we now move forward onto the option of having our protagonist be a pilot of a giant robot. Giant robots hold a special place in Japan’s culture, as said earlier in the intro, robot in Japan can be said to have a spiritual connection. To explain this connection better, I would like to bring up a case study with the 1999 anime Big O, which has seemingly abrahamic form of storytelling and character development. But beyond this form of abrahamic story telling form, this story does hint at points of Shintoism and Buddhism. This case study will also show the popularity of giant robots over the traditional superhero, which in Western culture is much more of a staple of their pop culture over the idea of a giant robot.
The heart of this argument has to do with the beliefs that Japan embraces over the west. While the west usually follows monotheistic religions such as the different branches of Christianity and judaism, which says that god is anthropomorphized into the image of man. As such, super heroes such as Superman and Captain America would manifest itself in the image of a powerful human. (Lunning, 2006, p.276)Japan’s traditional sense of god is the polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto, which is much more malleable, as it can take multiple forms. (Lunning,p.277) Whereas Western religion focuses on a single god that created the world and nature, as well as judging what is good and bad, Shinto is different in which different elements of nature are worshipped as individual kami. (Lunning,p.277) If we take the anime The Big O, the main protagonist, Roger Smith, is not a typical kind of hero. Whereas Superman and Batman has a clear moral compass, in which their job as a hero is to defeat the evil side, Roger is unique because he is a negotiator. This is important, because throughout the anime, he does not necessarily defeat evil, he seeks a way to find terms that both parties can live with. In terms of a Shintoist view, this keeps to more of a cosmic balance over a victory of good over evil.(Lunning, p.278) A fun fact that brings this together is the name of the robots, the general name for them being megadeus. In Greek translation, this means “Big God”, which is ironic as many of the giant robots in this anime are also called megadeus, which can be considered a play on how the robots represents the kami of Japanese Shintoism. But rather than a force of nature however, the main robot, Big O, can be argued to be a regional guardian with it’s lord, a dominus, that synchronizes with it to protect Paradigm City. Further more, later in the series as more megadeus robots appear, we can see that more of this idea of synchronization between man and god, as one of the antagonists, Alan Gabriel and his new megadeus, Big Duo, is found ‘guilty’ by his robot. What makes this relevant is that the robot represents more the concept of a noble kind of Kami, a god that serves and protects, and only works if their lord’s intention is noble.(Lunning, p.279) To further run this idea of spiritualism in these giant robot animes, is in the end of The Big O, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the end of The Big O, a female character, only known as “Angel” in the show, fulfills a prophecy of a which converts her into a robot known as Big Venus. This has parallels to the buddhist belief of reincarnation, another prolific religion in Japan. As I said earlier when talking about EVA unit one in Neon Genesis Evangelion, the protagonist’s mother is absorbed by the Eva, transferring her soul into the unit.
As such I conclude that robots have a significant part of Japanese culture, whether it be spiritual or aesthetic, the idea of robot relations has been popular in Japan and other cultures alike.
References:
From Captain America to Wolverine. (1995).The Cyborg Handbook, 219-229.
Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto. InSimians, cyborgs, and women: The reinvention of nature (pp. 141-179). New York: Routledge.
Lemarre, T. (n.d.). Platonic Sex: Perversion and Shôjo Anime (Part One). Animation: An Interdiciplinary Journal, 45-59.
JapanToday. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/in-japan-women-amputees-step-out-of-the-shadows
Lunning, F. (n.d.). Orendo giant robots and superheroes: Manifestations of Divine power, east and West. N, 274-281.
PARÉ AND PROSTHETICS: THE EARLY HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1445-2197.2007.04330.x/abstract;jsessionid=C79D0E1AE104FB3D1A0FD390D7377412.f01t02?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false
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