Use of the Psychic in Manga and Anime

8/10/2019 Use of the Psychic in Manga and Anime

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Use of the Psychic in Mangaand Anime

Overview and Critique

And Personal Speculation on Its Eects on the Audience

Overview

Background

Treatment

Examples(partially revised 2001)

Good points(controversial)

Bad points(even more controversial)

Note: One of my purposes in writing this is to help the Westerner to become more aware

of the psychic undercurrents in most Japanese comics. Not everything psychic depicted in

manga is true or even close to the truth, while some of it may be disconcertingly true.Either way, as with all media, one must carefully examine the material and mae

!udgments on its merits or counter"merits for oneself. #f a comic$s treatment of the

psychic is disturbing, it may simply be a different and valid way of looing at an issue """

or maybe you$ll find you$re !ust better off not reading the material, for various reasons.

Overview

er!aps one o" t!e most striking aspects o" manga and anime to a #esterner is t!eemp!asis on t!e supernatural$ w!et!er psyc!ic or spiritual% &rom t!e ki'attacks o" martial

artists to t!e !into wards t!at keep demons at ay$ manga and anime are over"lowing

wit! psyc!ic re"erences% Even many girls* comics center around demons and angels andg!osts and vampires$ and many t!at don*t !ave rie" incidents o" psyc!ic activity ''' suc!

as people !earing t!e voice o" a loved one w!o !as +ust died% #!y is it material t!at

mig!t normally only e "ound in %he & 'ilesor (nsolved )ysteriesin t!e ,%% so

routinely winds up in mainstream -apanese comics.

It!s part of "apanese culture

-apan*s culture !as as a ackdrop t!e ric! myt!ological tapestry o" t!e &ar East$ as well as

!undreds o" years o" speciali/ed martial arts training% ,p until relatively recently$ many

-apanese elieved in gods and demons and spirits as a result o" ot! !intoism andcertain "orms o" Budd!ism$ and also !ad a elie" in reincarnation$ ell (-igoku)$ and

eaven (Tengoku)% Every c!ild in -apan is also roug!t up wit! a stock set o" g!ost
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stories$ "rom t!e stories o" t!e "aceless nopperao to t!e tale o" t!e plate'counting g!ost

students learn o" t!e ancient 3!inese elie"s and tales$ suc! as t!e myt!ical 104

supernatural reels in t!e story o" t!e #ater 5argin (uikoden)% Eastern martial arts$wit! aspects o" 6ndian yoga$ emp!asi/e t!e use o" 7i (psyc!ic energy$ t!e asis o" *tar

Wars$t!e &orce)% T!e -apanese language uses t!e word 7i extensively it*s almost

impossile to avoid it in its many uses% &or example$ depression can translate to !eavy7i$ !appy and !ealt!y to somet!ing approximating proper 7i$ and so on% On top o"

all o" t!is$ t!e -apanese remain deeply curious aout t!e world around t!em$ and t!ey

tend not to !ave t!e traditional #estern -udeo'3!ristian'ased pro!iitions againstexploring t!e psyc!ic realm%

With such a background of psychic legend, experience, and curiosity, itseems only natural that the Japanese would delve deeply into thesubject matter in comics --- a medium ideally suited for suchendeavors. The cross-fertiliation with the West, with ideas such asaliens, vampires, cyborgs, mermaids, and Western architecture and

dress, has also produced an amaing explosion of !ast-Westsupernatural hybrids.

#reatment of the Supernatural

6nstead o" treating t!e supernatural wit! overw!elming diselie"$ t!e -apanese tend to

treat it as normal ''' at least wit!in t!e world o" comics% 3!aracters wit!in t!e comics

tend to eit!er treat t!e supernatural wit! eit!er (1) initial diselie" ut 8uick acceptance or(2) immediate acceptance% er!aps t!e most telling "actor$ t!at w!ic! tends to separate

manga "rom 9merican treatment o" t!e supernatural$ is t!e everyday'ness o" it% :at!er

t!an treat t!e supernatural like somet!ing utterly !orrile$ utterly mysterious$ or utterly

ridiculous$ manga tends to treat it like anyt!ing else; somet!ing t!at can e used ormisused$ somet!ing to e respected and laug!ed at$ somet!ing to e ot! "eared and

treasured%

$hat are some other e%amples of the psychic in mangaand anime&

T!ere are too many to count% But !ere*s an overview o" various types o" t!e supernatural

and examples%

Just Plain Occasional Inexplicable Stuff%


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T!e people remain t!e "ocus% 5any #estern s!ort stories "eature i/arre incidents

too$ and one could point to /hristmas /arolor some =at!aniel awt!orn

stories as "amous #estern analogues%

Ki and Ki-based ESP% 5any oys* comics t!at center around intrigue$ "ig!ting or

martial arts !eavily exploit t!e notion o" 7i% 7i is literally T!e &orce o" tar

#ars "ame it is apparently an energy t!at is all around us and w!ic! can e used"or good or "or ill% Eastern martial arts emp!asi/e training o" 7i$ and t!is

awareness o" 7i !as extended into popular -apanese culture% 3!aracters sense

eac! ot!ers* presences "rom "ar away$ suc! as an incident in /ity 0unterin w!ic!7aori ecomes alarmed w!en s!e notices t!at s!e can no longer "eel :yo*s

presence% >eadly'ki is t!e "eeling o" impending attack t!at snaps people out o"

sleep or into action$ as seen in1anma 234w!enever 9kane senses an impending

attack y 7odac!i% 9 strong "ield o" attle'ki is said to surround power"ulwarriors$ as c!aracters in t!e "antasy seriesragon 5uest"re8uently note '''

sometimes so power"ul t!at attack is made impossile (t!ese stories parallel

legendary events wit! real !istorical people)% Entire attles are sometimes "oug!t

wit! ki$ as in 6u 6u 0ausho; martial artists in ot! manga and real li"e cansometimes "ell an opponent wit!out ever p!ysically touc!ing t!e person% 6n

manga$ !owever$ t!e attles tend to e "las!ier t!an real li"e$ wit! ursts o"rig!tly lit energy and auras t!at glow like "ire%

Psionics and ESP% sionics sometimes seem to e +ust a di""erent "orm o" ki$ ut

wit!out t!e lael o" ki% sionics also allow "or teleportation (w!ic! ki usuallydoesn*t) and a clearer "orm o" telepat!y$ as well as controlled telekinesis% tories

aout psionics crop up !ere and t!ere$ too% /ho!in 7oce$ aout a psionic oy w!o

can !eal ot!ers$ teleport$ use telekinesis and so on$ is an ovious example% ome

psionics$ like t!ose inJo Jo$s -i8arre dventure 9arty$ are a uni8ue mixture o" ki$psionics$ and magic% sionics tend to appear in science'"iction realms% Even an

occasionaloraemonstory involves psionics$ suc! as a 21st'century training

device "or developing one*s potential (w!ic!$ o" course$ =oita "ails to useproperly)%

Chinese, Japanese, and other Eastern Mythology oundations% T!e classic

3!inese epic "antasy legend o" uikoden (T!e #ater 5argin) and t!e traditionalcardinal direction associations (eacock'out!$ Blue >ragon'East$ etc%) !as

carried over consideraly into modern -apanese storytelling% 5ovies$ games$ and

manga !ave een ased on t!ese supernatural t!emes (suc! as t!e laystation

game +ensou"*uiodenand t!e mangao No 'uuinand'ushigi 6uugi% 5yt!saout t!e princess "rom t!e moon and t!e multi'!eaded$ ydra'like


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religions% 5any manga and anime spiritual warriors use mantras (c!anted prayer)

and mudras (special !and positions) to summon t!e spiritual strengt! o" t!e good

Budd!ist or !into gods (as a note$ some ranc!es o" Budd!ism do not !aveany gods)% T!e c!aracter akura "rom (rusei 6atsura(@um) !ad t!e skills o" a

!into priestess$ and used !into tools to keep demons at ay% =uue in0ell

%eacher Nuubeuses Budd!ist mantras to !elp anis! demons% =ot +ust spiritualwarriors use t!ese tec!ni8ues nin+as (ot! in real li"e and in t!e comics) also use

mudras and 7i meditation to improve t!emselves% ,n"ortunately$ t!ere are "ew

ovious #estern in"luences in manga spirituality$ and one o" t!em is t!e sadlystereotypical use o" t!e cross against vampires (w!ic! usually doesn*t work)% One

!opes t!at some o" t!e more positive aspects o" #estern culture could e

incorporated$ instead o" +ust t!e negative ones%

%iscarnate people &ghosts' and souls% @ate 1AA0*s manga seem to !ave !ad a"ascination wit! soul'swapping$ suc! as wit!0isoa 1eturnsandNoside$ ot! o"

w!ic! involve main c!aracters w!ose odies temporarily died$ necessitating t!ey

move into t!e ody o" some ot!er person w!o !ad recently died% T!e recent

%uxedo +inis anot!er story o" soul transmigration a recently deceased youngman takes up residence in a penguin% 6n 6u 6u 0ausho$ evils*

E8uation) in "act seem to en+oy turning angels and demons into (o"ten sexy'looking) manga c!aracters% @ikewise$ oys* comics like-astardandebi ebi

ai'Ou$ as well as a

eaven% 5ixing up Eastern and #estern eaven and ell seems to e

standard practice (t!ere was a !umorous Budd!ist priest wit! !alo and wings in


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%uxedo +in)% 5ost o" t!e manga "eaturing angels and demons do !ave a

eaven and ell$ t!oug! again$ ot! are "ictitious versions% 9 numer o" manga

also take a somew!at Eastern approac! and divide up t!e world into ? parts; t!e!uman (p!ysical) world$ t!e demonCmonster world$ and t!e spiritual world w!ere

t!e souls o" t!e dead go% (3omics like >ampire 9rincess )iyutend to !ave only

t!e "irst two$ ut 6u 6u 0ausho$ +host *weeper )iamiand ot!ers include t!espirit world o" t!e dead%) Typical plot involves a !uman w!o !as to protect t!e

!uman world "rom encroac!ers "rom t!e demon world$ in t!e process usually

gaining at least one c!aotic good demon "riend w!o !elps in t!e "ig!t% T!e spiritworld is o"ten not mentioned y name$ ut it is o"ten implied to exist ''' ecause

t!e souls o" c!aracters w!o die usually wind up omeplace Else t!at is neit!er t!e

demon world nor t!e !uman world%

'ood points of the Anime(manga treatment of thesupernatural

ere we get into a controversial p!ilosop!ical discussion% 6 will assume t!at some readerso+ect to all t!is psyc!ic stu"" as promoting evil% ere are some reasons w!y 6 don*t t!inkit is doing so;

"ow are supernatural powers depicted# What are its fruits# !ven theWestern Judeo-$hristian beliefs argue that some supernatural forcesare good or divine, even if others are not. %n the Japanese view, psychicpowers are like any other talent --- neither good nor bad, but capableof being used for either. &ost characters in manga who routinely usepsychic powers are theoretically on the side of 'good.' They help thosein need, (ght evil, and so on.

The Japanese treatment of the psychic tendsto retain fundamental andarguably 'good' elements, which are characteristic of manga andanime in general. "ere are some basics)

Emp!asis on compassionate use o" skills% T!e est !eroes are t!ose w!o de"end or

!elp t!e weak andCor innocent$ and w!o s!ow mercy to t!e de"eated% Even t!e

most miserly and money'!ungry o" main c!aracters o"ten winds up working "or"ree$ out o" compassion (true "or everyt!ing "rom surgery to g!ost'usting)% ome

villains also s!ow mercy and compassion it*s +ust considered t!e cool t!ing to

do% &inally$ t!e use o" sel"'control$ restraint$ and mercy o"ten lead t!e c!aracters

to a etter understanding o" t!e enemy$ sometimes to t!e point w!ere t!eyreali/e t!ey can avoid con"lict and !elp t!e misunderstood enemy accomplis!

somet!ing t!at is actually good%

Emp!asis on teamwork$ trust$ and "riends!ip% Over and over$ it*s stressed t!at

teamwork is essential% Eac! person must use !er or !is own special strengt!s to

!elp t!e team$ and t!e team comes to depend on t!ose speciali/ed skills% Even t!e

!ero o"ten gets saved y a less important c!aracter% Eac! teammate strives "or

group !armony (aiki)$ even struggling mentally to accept t!ose sC!e can*t stand% 9


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common scene is a team memer angrily lecturing someone (o"ten t!e main

c!aracter) w!o violates t!e code o" intra'group respect%

Emp!asis on rigorous training and deep understanding% -ust as non'psyc!ic

manga c!aracters spend a lot o" time studying in sc!ool$ or in t!e o""ice$ or at

!ome$ many psyc!ic c!aracters spend a lot o" time training and studying not only

t!eir art$ ut t!e art of trainingas well% T!e reader watc!es as t!ey gain deepinsig!ts into t!e nature o" ot! t!eir trade and w!at it means to e !uman% T!e

reader also watc!es as t!ey complain aout !ow ex!austed t!ey are% 3!aracters

o"ten pass out "rom t!e strenuousness o" t!eir training$ w!et!er psyc!ic or not%

*verall message# "ard work, strong friendship, and right use of one+spowers can conuer even the most powerful evil. pretty powerful,encouraging message.

$hat are the )ad points of having so much psychicmaterial&

*, so suppose that you see nothing wrong with so much psychicwarfare going on page after page. "ere are my personal views on whyit+s not necessarily a good thing, either/

The most obvious problem with manga and anime, especially boys+manga, is the overemphasis on (ghting one+s way out of everything0whether with guns or psychic attacks1. The underlying issue, ofcourse, is that peaceful resolution simply does not make for an excitingread. Watching, say, true aikido in action would be boring, becausetrue aikido is the avoidance of con2ict. %n our already violence-(lled

world, prevention seems to need a lot of help, and battle-orientedmanga 0while possibly providing an outlet for frustration1 may behurting that cause.

The rest of the bad points of the depiction of the supernatural reuiresome belief in the supernatural. %f you don+t believe in spirits andpsychic energy and so on, the rest of this section will have no meaningto you. 3kip ahead. 4ut supposing you do believe in those things, andsupposing you+re willing to accept the very loose de(nitions of 'good'as 'actively caring and helpful to others' and 'evil' as 'actively sel(shand harmful to others,' here are some other problems % see associated

with manga and anime.

'lamor vs* education. *ne recent episode of Hell Teacher Nuubeinvolved students who unknowingly risked their lives playing with anouija board 05uube had to rescue them1. Though the manga included astern, explicit warning about the risks of using ouija boards, publiciingtheir use may not be a good thing. This is reminscent of the little tiny'how to be good' message tacked on the end of every violent G.I. Joe


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episode. The key uestion becomes, What is the ratio of real educationto glamoriation#

'lamori+ing ,evil*,3ometimes the education-to-glamoriation ratiois pretty low. &anga and anime have a bad habit of glamoriing the

supernatural --- not just the heroes, but the bad guys as well. 6emonsare often depicted as beautiful or handsome creatures, and truly'good' entities are rarely depicted at all. &aybe this is a warning abouthow appearances can be deceiving#

-ownplaying ,good*,%t seems that 'angels' in many series are justas proud, arrogant, and unthinking as their evil counterparts. They alsoseemingly have to resort to violence about as often. % suspect this isbecause 'angels' are seen as 'cool,' which means that authors whowant to write weird psychic 'cool' stu7 latch onto them. There arewonderful manga where ordinary, uiet, humble acts of goodness and

kindness are glori(ed, but they don+t usually feature supernaturalwinged beings/

'lamori+ing psychic powers. nother problem is that '8ou might getwhat you asked for.' 3ome real-world people suggest that one+s desiresare a powerful attractant in the spiritual world. 4y glamoriing psychicprowess, manga and anime may lead readers to desire psychic powersbecause it+s 'cool.' '%f only % could do that/' -- % have received many,many pieces of email asking about the ki9energy blasts done in DragonBall Z/ 3uch an attitude can be, according to various scholars of thespiritual, dangerous to have, opening one up to subtle and sometimes

unnoticed psychic attack. Just as bad, potentially, is the desire to meetspirits. The spirits most likely to meet a curious person are not the'good' ones, even if they claim to be. 8et, in most manga dealing withsuch meta-situations 0of characters who read manga and want to meetspirits or monsters1, the spirits are good and trustworthy.

.ot enough real research. %t would be folly to use manga and animeas guidebooks to the supernatural, but for many people, it+s the mainsource of information. This could be seen as a problem.

My Personal Opinion&

6 t!ink t!at anime and manga o"ten do a pretty good +o wit! t!e supernatural% 5any do

take t!e time to depict t!e drawacks o" psyc!ic skills$ suc! as t!e tendency to getattacked y ot!er eings w!o !ave suc! skills (and t!e possiility o" deat! o" onesel" or a

loved one resulting)% T!ey also take care to s!ow t!e !eavy weig!t o" responsiility to (1)

not misuse power and (2) to protect t!ose w!o are not as power"ul%


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That said, over the past few years % have gotten more and moreueries about using 'ki blasts' and other psychic abilities. This alarmsme, because the desire for psychic powers is a dangerous trap. %t tendsto get one involved in the darker side of the spiritual spectrum.&oreover, % have seen enough manga to realie some of the best

stories that teach kindness tend to be the least dramatic in terms ofpsychic battles or winged beings.

%t all depends on the author, the editors and publishers, and thedesires of the consumer.

%f the manga and anime medium is to continue to delve into thepsychic world, one hopes that the authors do their research thoroughlyon the nature of the supernatural. They need to take a long hard lookat their own responsibilities and the e7ects of their power, even if thatis the plain, natural and 'mundane' power to teach while entertaining.

Text copyright !!"# !!$# %&& by 'ri I(a)a

rei:mit.edu

;ei+s nime and &anga

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Use of the Psychic in Manga and Anime