I just want to start by saying that the intent of this review is not to justify the score I have given Japan Sinks, but to discuss why I think that many have under-appreciated it. I think the show is very good and one of the better things I watched this year, though with very noticeable flaws. However, I think people have over-emphasized these flaws in order to justify their opinion of it, while demonstrating an inability to engage with the show more deeply so that's what I want to talk about.
Let's start with politics. A full discussion of the role in politics would be
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too large to fit in a post like this and different literature critique philosophies emphasize politics at different levels. All stories revolve around a character who has to make an impact on the world or develop in a particular direction and this process is an inherently political one. We may not agree with the conclusions offered by the creators, but we judge the work by how well it formulates the discussion, not by how much it aligns with our personal beliefs. Some people have disliked Japan Sinks believing it to be too "SJW", but I would ask that such people don't stop their critique there and move on: explore how the show portrays its ideas and what arguments for change it sets forth.
The Japan Sinks franchise started as a novel in a post-war, boom economy 1970's amid massive cultural shifts, from an imperialistic war-focused country to one that embraced technology, many Western values, and structural changes. This left a large cultural rift between generations. The original book, according to some accounts, invited the reader on a search to find a national identity and the 2020 anime continues that dialogue from a more modern perspective. where youths are increasingly globalist and contemptuous of traditionalist values and the elderly remain disdainful of foreign powers. These ideas merge with Yuasa's philosophy as expressed in Mind Game as all being beside the point: what matters in life is your drive, ambition, and the joy of doing what you love, not where you're from or where you're going.
The characters of Japan Sinks are reserved and preoccupied. Their ideals and philosophies are constantly at odds with the harsh world surrounding them and there is very little time to process what has happened before the next catastrophe strikes. They are constantly hungry, tired, and dehydrated and the show's pacing is unrelenting as we fallow them through their ideals.
Some criticism has come from characters acting irrationally or without emotion and I think that people may be unused to how the characters are portrayed in this show: realistically. Typically, you'll have a lead male protagonist who may not be as physically strong as everyone else, but is intelligent, logical, and gets everyone out of trouble while leading them to safety. When a character experiences strong emotions, they will break down and have long monologues about how they feel. In Japan Sinks, characters hide their emotions, knowing that dread and fear are contagions that will endanger the group. This is directly demonstrated in a confrontation between a mother and daughter over how to properly greave. These aren't anime heros who think rationally all the time and say the right things, using the right words, they're humans who make mistakes left and right, but are always trying to learn and do better.
The art is where I think the fairest criticisms lie. Yuasa and Science Saru's superflat style has always been just off enough to seem artistic and experimental, but Japan Sinks really wants a down-to-earth style that drives its realism. It's still generally consistent enough to be visually pleasing and provide depth and volume to the characters, but not to the same standards which other, even B-tier, anime typically achieve.
Overall, I think Japan Sinks is a great work of art, but definitely not something whose value is derived from the pure enjoyment of consuming it. The pacing is relentless and sad, often in direct opposition to traditional story telling devices. Dreary sections will drag on long after your brain started screaming for them to end and intense sections are so packed together that you and the characters will have little time to gleam their deeper meanings except in retrospect. It challenges the viewer; never guiding them towards a philosophical idea or explaining each characters motivations in depth, it wants you to think for yourself. It really should likely not be binged.
For those who do not see much beyond the surface, this show will appear random, chaotic, sad, and unnecessary. It's hard to say who will come out with that impression because it may have little to do with their literary analysis skills and I don't want it to sound like I'm saying "if you thought this, you're bad at literature" because I don't believe that. Our subjective perspective will impact the ways in which we interpret media and there are shows that I know are good and deep, but that I find very little intellectual content. What I would like to propose to readers, in closing, is that just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
Oct 16, 2020
Nihon Chinbotsu 2020
(Anime)
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I just want to start by saying that the intent of this review is not to justify the score I have given Japan Sinks, but to discuss why I think that many have under-appreciated it. I think the show is very good and one of the better things I watched this year, though with very noticeable flaws. However, I think people have over-emphasized these flaws in order to justify their opinion of it, while demonstrating an inability to engage with the show more deeply so that's what I want to talk about.
Let's start with politics. A full discussion of the role in politics would be ... |
