garland41

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Latest Topics

games

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The Shin Megami Tensei Persona series and how it relates to identity and existentialism

In the Persona series by Atlus, we see the characters evolve through the story and normally attack difficult questions of life, existence, what is better for society, and how the individual grows. If one looks at the late game in Persona 4 we see that one has many options to choose from that can lead to the so called bad ending. We also see growth the of the characters and the theme that the bonds we make with people strengthen ourselves.

Definitely go into more about how the characters are developed in the Persona series and give examples to how you see the character reveal more of themselves and grow as the player goes through the game. – Kmo 9 years ago
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It would also be helpful to compare Persona to Megami Tensei series(so-called "main ones"). Persona started as a kind of spin-off, so seeing how much it deviated from post-apocalyptic and dark MegaTen main series would strengthen the argument. – idleric 9 years ago
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You can also compare between the Persona games themselves; how much the themes have changed from the first game to the fourth. – uiorra 9 years ago
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anime

fullmetal alchemist

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Representing the German Übermensch

The anime and manga series, Fullmetal Alchemist, shows heavy influence from a young German (Some would even say Nazi Germany). Nietzsche is said to have been Hitler's favorite philosopher; however, that is not the focus of this topic. The focus and reason for this topic is to discuss how alchemy, in the universe of Fullmetal Alchemist, makes people the Übermensch (translating in English to Overhuman or Superman). Nietzsche believed that the Übermensch would be the next part of evolution (if I remember correctly), so how does Fullmetal Alchemist handle these humans, that know alchemy, that are clearly more powerful than the average person. Colonel Roy Mustang, one of the series most powerful alchemist, can, with a snap of his fingers, destroy an entire town. Major Armstrong could be seen as an Arian ideal for the Übermensch. He is not only physically strong, but he represents perfection in form and art.

Definitely think the focus should be on Armstrong himself. A compelling argument, and using FMA as the backdrop with Armstrong as primary example would be extremely effective. My six years of University have led me to believe this anyways. – smartstooge 9 years ago
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Wouldn't the homunculous be the superhumans? I wouldn't say Roy is all that special, any alchemist could produce fire with a snap if they had similar engraved gloves/hands. Edward and his teacher are a more compelling argument because they've evolved past needing circles to perform alchemy by using the circuits in their bodies attained through knowledge. Still, knowledge isn't an evolution (although having the capacity to understand it might be, and even then they don't process all that they see). The homunculous are an actual next step up from average humans; they don't need to age, they have inherent super powers, and regenerative abilities. I think the article should address the homunculous and enlightened humans even if it only serves to continue to promote Armstrong as the anime's intended ideal. – Slaidey 9 years ago
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I wouldn't consider the Homunculus in this. The reason being is that the Homunculus were not humans in the first place, while Alchemists like Armstrong have made themselves more than a normal Man. Also, one of the points of being a state alchemist was to be made better than humans. Someone should also consider whether the State Alchemists are the Übermensch, or they are all working towards becoming the Übermensch. Edward, Alphonse, and their teacher may be enlightened, but they are only like that because of the path that they took. – garland41 9 years ago
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A side note: while Nietzsche was a favorite philosopher among the Nazi brass, he was staunchly opposed to Nazi ideals. His Nazi relatives, after his death, twisted his message and pushed him toward popularity within the Third Reich. That doesn't really change the übermensch message in Nazi narratives, but it is an important distinction when talking about Nietzsche himself. – Kristian Wilson 9 years ago
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That's a good point from Slaidey about the fact that the alchemists aren't necessarily evolved but just have certain knowledge and skills that could theoretically be learned by anyone. Even Armstrong is just a man who, through serious discipline, has made himself as strong and smart as he is, yet is not necessarily evolved (although it would be very important to discuss his image as the hulking blonde guy who is spoken of so highly). At the same time, garland41 has really made the important point that the situation could be one of becoming Übermensch, not necessarily already being them. Given that this discussion would dismiss homunculi as being not human, I think the strongest piece of this discussion would be the State Alchemists' work towards becoming something more. After all, the FMA series holds very high aesthetics and themes from late 1800's - early 1900's Europe. – carp000 9 years ago
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I agree with the comment on Major Armstrong looking like an Arian, but Mustang isn't exactly super powered because of his ability to snap and create big explosions, this only happens because of the gloves he wears that cause sparks and then the fact that he compresses the oxygen around him to cause the explosions. Also, the fact that there is Fuher does support the Nazi statement a little bit, but back to the point of superhumans fit the humunculi a lot better. After all, they are basically evolved humans with skills to manipulate their own bodies. – BrainiacGamer3 9 years ago
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Latest Comments

Dec 16, 2015 garland41 I cannot say that this is a good representation of the gender spectrum, especially when, in Mulan’s case, it is not that she wants to be a man it is that she want to be accepted. One has to remember the time at which each movie came out and the concepts in society at the time. Heck, Snow White came out before Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex,” so, at that time, we had no feminine ideology to challenge these ideas. What we see in Mulan, is her character traits being in a category probably farther than “the other.” Normally we take the category of “the Other” to be anything not male, not the key gender. So, when we see Mulan, we see that her character traits are even different than what women accept. Also, in the case with Mulan, we don’t see how she was brought up with these ideas about how to act. As Judith Butler puts it, our gender roles are learned. It might be a coincidence that Mulan came out 8 years after Judith Butler’s book “Gender Trouble.” All in all, the feminist aspect of this article is a little of with a defined idea of what gender is and categorized. In the first two examples it really sounded as if everything was a dichotomy and not a spectrum.	Masculinity and the Disney Princess
Dec 16, 2015 garland41 It is true that we can see this represented in anime, the only problem is knowing to what extend it is being represented. We don’t see Hikikomori very often. Gaijin Goombah did a great episode on the culture of Hikikomori.	What the West Learned About Japanese Culture from Anime
Dec 14, 2015 garland41 I would actually say that The School Of Life has gone down in quality. I don’t see them posting as many ideas as they used to (it is like they are running out), and they seem to have an agenda. It would be better if they just gave the ideas and left it at that. I don’t watch as many of their videos as I used to. In fact, I spend more time with another channel that teaches the same values with the same depth and more entertainment value. That Channel is Wisecrack.	Snacks for Thought: 5 ‘Edutainment’ YouTube Channels To Improve Your Knowledge