86: When do ideals spill blood
At the end of their death march, the Spearheads' have seemingly reached true paradise; They are in a just country, with people who will fight for their safety; They have found a real home, a place where they can finally be of their age; And perhaps most importantly, they remain together -- Free from the Legion terrors that once threatened to tear them apart. However, there is something empty about that "home"; They could never fit in with the common people, nor could they ever stomach the opportunities gifted to them. Instead when Kurena said that she has "seen everything there is to see", we are greeted with this flower --
White daisies, the Tanacetum Parthenium. Parthenium meaning 'virgin', while Tanacetum meaning 'immortality' -- Virgin immortality. For the Spearheads, that is incredibly fitting. We've talked about how in the purity of their ideals, they have already transcended death itself. Having Shin carry on their name plates is an act of legacy, entrusting him to make their deaths "meaningful". For the five Spearheads who remain then, they asked themselves: Are we honoring our fallen comrades while we stay in this warmth and comfort? Hell no. "For as long as we are alive, we will fight just as they did -- For that is our ideal".
The Spearhead ideals have continued to scatter far and wide into season 2. Lena, as prophesized, has come to embody the Spearhead pride, championing the banners in her fallen homeland. But perhaps a person that is more of interest is Eugene, a man who possesses noble goals as well. Coming from a poor family, Eugene had an ideal of bettering the life of his sister. He joined the army to earn money to which he funneled to his sister's education. He joined the army to protect her from the encroaching Legion. Such pure selflessness is what earns him the right to be symbolized by the Tanacetum Parthenium. But perhaps in their cruel reality, even the whitest of petals will be showered in blood.
For what tangible results was achieved in him fighting the Legion? He is but one low rank in a military filled with talents like Shin. He is but one insect, hurdling into a horde of unfeeling monsters. And for what tangible gains did he made for his sister, other than giving her one less big brother to care for?
This begs the question: When do ideals spill blood?
In my essay -- When do ideals become more than empty words -- I championed the Spearhead pride. In a racist world, invaded by demons, they fought and fought and fought. They fought to imbue meaning into their comrades' lives and they sought to do so even if they are missing a limb or two. But in this new country, where their lives are at repose, where their opportunities are rewarded, where their 86 stigma has receded, what tangible gains do they still make? They may have irreplaceable skills, but so does the entire army which are way more responsible than that other one. They may have invaluable experience, but all they were asked to do was to be test pilots for the new Reginleif. And they may have comrades to honor, but look me in the eyes and tell me that those comrades wouldn't have been happy in their stead.
Indeed why the Spearheads continue to fight may be entirely impressionistic, illogical and simply insane. Wars are never going to end, so are the Spearheads going to keep fighting even if they start growing greys? Or are they just fighting in some twisted hope that death will claim them before then? Will somebody please teach them the concept of a retirement plan...
When do having ideals go too far? When does it start giving diminishing returns, where you're simply just risking your life for unwarranted pride? When do ideals spill blood?
Disclaimer: The following essay will encompass the entirety of season 2. It will also contain ideas that have built up over the past season, so I will reference a lot of the explored themes there as well. However, I have four essays, which in total racks up to about 18000 words; That is simply way too much reading, so I will instead just link them here, followed by their brief summary. The choice to read them is ultimately up to you. Lastly, this essay -- When do Ideals spill blood -- Is extremely long averaging around 15, 500 words. And hence, at regular intervals I will post the word count to inform you of the progress meter. Hopeful doing so will allow you to take breaks along the way and reduce reading fatigue.
S1 Episode 1-3: How 86 uses dramatic irony. Dramatic irony plays with the information that we the audience possess, and they the characters don't. 86 does this by using the concept of dissociative interaction, making it so that Lena and the Spearheads' experiences are disjointed. It helps cumulate a lot of tension, to which 86 uses to build up to the intense meltdown that is episode 3.
S1 Episode 1-7: When do ideals become more than empty words. The Republic's ideals are often plagued with layers of false purity, while the Spearheads has build up values that are concrete and admirable. The contrast has showed us that even though Karlstahl believes the Republic is morally-void, their five saintly-ideals has always blazed on under the Spearhead name.
S1 Episode 7-8: How 86 uses staging. Staging is the technique of framing a setting according to the emotions of a scene. In this essay I talk about 86's contrasting lighting between dark blue and gold, and show how they use it to explore the irony behind the characters' actions.
S1 Episode 7-11: Where Paradise resides. Paradise is where true freedom is found and where many of the 86 characters seek to reach. In this essay, I dive into the jam-packed finale of season 1 and ask the question: What is Paradise and what lies beyond it?
The Idealist Vs the Realist
Consider the differences between the Republic and the Federacy; The Federacy does not pursue eugenics as we see colored skins roaming their streets; They have a joint military that actually takes their job seriously; Their buildings are more modern, built around the common folks rather than the rich; And we even see the residents holding rallies, an action catered to the betterment of society. In every sense of the word 'better', the Federacy is.
However, one should not classify them as an idealist society. Idealists consider adhering to values as a priority over pragmatism. An idealist may speak of sheltering an orphan they found by the street, reasoning that our society is built on kindness. However their arch-nemesis -- The realist -- Would instead tell them that they are neither financially or emotionally prepared to take care of themselves, let alone others. That is who the practical man is; That is the type of philosophy that the Federacy abides by. For them, weighing the pros and cons take priority over any kind of ideal. After all, one of the first decisions we see them debate over is whether or not they should kill the 86 for being potential foreign spies, not to mention their latter and more egregious decision of sending them on a suicide mission.
Now, that is just the military right? Does that truly reflect the ideals of the nation as a whole? Well... That is a slightly nuanced question, in part owing to the fact that the Federacy is itself a nuanced nation. Let us compare some of the Federacy people, with two very simple factors -- Idealism vs pragmatism.
On our extreme end of pragmatism, we have Richard, the commander of the army. He was the one who ordered the Spearheads to charge deep into Legion territory. He was the one who reasoned that they were monsters and that people won't be as sad if they died. If we present Richard with the trolley problem, he would be the first who pulls the lever, and then proceed to assume that the one who died was not loved by anyone, while the other five had X number of children to feed.
To balance out the pragmatism, we have Grethe, who considers both practicality and morality. Grethe was one of the first commanders that wanted to recruit the Spearheads back into the army. She believed that their unparalleled combat skills would be useful in building her new Reginleif. However, this pragmatism which takes advantage of child soldiers runs only as deep as that. She wanted to drag them back into the military but only as mere test pilots. When faced with the details of the suicide mission, she objected to the choice of the Spearheads. If we present Grethe with the trolley problem, she would probably struggle with it at first, proceed to pull the lever, and then recompensate his family by paying for his child's education.
Finally, on our extreme ends of idealism, we have Ernst, who speaks in what I like to call the "aphoristic tongue". He spews grand ideals about how society must always live up to their morals. He would adopt the orphan children he found by the side of the street, all five of them in actuality. He even stopped the airstrikes when the suicide team was presumed to be wiped out. In a frightening manner, he says that "a society who refuses to save children because they are no benefits, is a society that is better destroyed". If we present Ernst with the trolley problem, he would probably say that the train company should be sent to the gallows, and anyone who even considered pulling the lever must wait in line.
Three different members of the country, with each very different ways of doing things. That is how nuanced the country of the Federacy truly is. And perhaps to add a further tinge of grey, even Ernst and Richard aren't complete caricatures of their beliefs. Ernst may threaten to destroy the world for five random children, but he allowed the suicide mission knowing that the Spearheads were needed. Richard, as much as he considers the 86 monsters, actually segmented the Nordlicht team into smaller units, saying how "a blade that cuts too well will be used until it breaks".
So, with so many nuanced characters, can we truly judge the Federacy on the same pretense as the Republic, or are we comparing a fruit farm to an apple? Perhaps what makes the country of Federacy so interesting is that there aren't any clear cut answers. And I will go ahead to even say that Asato-Sensei did her best to complicate the moralistic lens. For example, how should we view Richard, the supposed "racist"? While it is true that a country should strive to preserve the lives of children, can we truly say that he is in the wrong to prioritize his own countrymen over some random foreigners? It's hard to say but on a personal level, I can't blame him for making that decision. And take Ernst, the country's president. For all the heroic #Savethechildren, are we gonna sit here and pretend that destroying a whole damn country over a few kids is not a bit of a stretch? Imagine he's the one running your country, and you hear him say that kinda shit. You'll probably wished you had voted for the other racist dude.
Owing to Asato-Sensei's characterization, you cannot say which one -- The realist or the idealist -- Is better. Perhaps we can say that none is better, context is what matters. For me, I choose to look at it from another perspective -- None is better, for they both need each other. Why would the realist need the idealist? Because you will always need someone like Ernst to question the legitimacy of Richard's actions.
Why would the idealist need the realist then? Because a general like Ernst who can't help but save everyone, saves no one by the end of it. You would need Richard there to be the necessary evil, to do the necessary sacrifices. And hence we have our eternal debate; Idealism versus pragmatism -- Ideals that spill blood vs ideals that are practical.
So is that answer to our question then? Ideals spill blood when they aren't sprinkled by the right amount of pragmatism. Well maybe. However, these concepts we just talk about are all the big picture stuff. Saving lives, prioritizing the safety of our society; These are big concepts that are difficult to grasp in our own lives, especially when we are clouded by our own trappings. As a puny human to another, how should we go about making our personal ideals practical?
Well I'm no lifestyle expert. I can not tell you no more life advices than the other Asian kid who struggles to meet deadlines. But perhaps what I can do, is a character study; Learning from one of the most well-written characters this season.
Disclaimer: My form of character study is an attempt to piece together a cohesive narrative of a character. However owing to the fact that these are all ultimately piecemeal details from a show that "shows-more-than-tell", lots of speculation would be used to fill in the finer gaps. Feel free to call me out, novel readers.
Word count: 1, 210 / 15, 600
Shinei Nouzen
Let us begin by telling the story of a boy, named Shin. As a child, Shin was nothing too spectacular, just a regular kid -- Slightly bratty, slightly cute, and full of zeal. He liked to do the things that any regular kid would like to do; Play ball, eat chocolate, draw with crayons. He particularly liked to draw his favorite story book hero, Skull Knight. He loved the courage and kindness that Skull Knight shows to the people he saves and he wished to one day be as heroic as that.
He had a next door neighbor, a friend named Annette. They were a little different, one was what society would call a pure breed with beautiful silver hair and silver eyes, while the other was duller looking with black hair and red eyes. But as kids you won't care for such trivial details, so they would often hang out with each other. Annette would be the shy one, while Shin would be the peppy boy dragging her out to the sun.
But perhaps the most important person in his life is Rei, his brother. Rei would often play ball with him, draw with him and read him his favorite story book. When Rei would have the money, he would even bring him out to cool places. One time during the Revolution Festival, they managed to catch the fireworks by the Royal Palace; A sight that was so beautiful that Shin still retained memories of it till this day, despite him already forgetting his face and voice.
To say that Rei was just his brother is an understatement though. See he was quite literally his everything. When the war started and people labelled him as an eighty-six, Rei was there to explain things to him. When even his friend Annette called him a filthy colored, Rei was there to comfort him. And perhaps most importantly, when they were sent off into the internment camps, Rei was there to protect him. The reason why Shin loved the Skull Knight so much, wasn't because the character was cool, but because the Skull Knight reminded him of his brother -- A hero who would do everything to protect him.
However, in the cruel horrors of war, even such a hero would falter in spirit; As he was notified of their parents' deaths and he himself would get enlisted, something in Rei crumbled. Like a demon possessed, Rei would wedge his fingers into Shin's neck, wringing the froth out of him. "It's all your fault!" he screamed. "Mom went out to fight because of you!" he squalled. "And I'm going to die because of you!" he blamed. He didn't truly mean it though. Anger had only possessed him for a split second, for he would come to regret his actions for the rest of his life. However, what does regret amount to a child no older than five?
For Shin, the person he admired the most in his life, tried to kill him. What kind of reason could force a hero to commit such a foul crime, other than the fact that, he might be right... 'Maybe I was the one to be blamed, maybe I did cause my parents and my brother to die,' he lament. And he would continue doing so for a long time, for nobody truly explained to him the reasons for those actions. The priest might have chastised his brother, but that doesn't bring his hero back. So Shin waited and waited, waiting for his brother to come back to explain things, to once again be the hero he once was -- But he never did.
It was inevitable then, that his turn would soon come. Shin would be enlisted to the army. Now within his power, armed with a scar around his neck, he would seek for his brother. He would travel far and wide, deep into the ruins of civilization. And he did find him, or what remained of him.
Was it a time to mourn? No, he was too confused to do so. Was it a time to forget? No, there was too many unanswered questions. However, Shin did hear a voice. Being gifted with a strange power, for better or for worse, Shin heard his brother's voice cackling amongst the snowy yonder. It was in that moment that he realized that his calling wasn't to mourn or to forget, but to save his hero from his mechanical prison.
Owing to his natural combat skills, Shin would always find himself outliving all his comrades. In the next few years, he would faze through dozens of units, like a ghost that haunts the living. But perhaps a small "blessing" would be when his comrades begun entrusting him with their name plates. They refer to him as "Shinigami", the Grim Reaper. What the Reaper is, is death incarnate. He would roam the earth for any souls that would soon depart and act as a guide, shining a path for them into the afterlife. For Shin, he would be the one who carries on his comrades' will, bringing them to their final destination. One plate, then ten, a hundred, followed by five hundred; Shin would dutifully enact his role as the Shinigami. His comrades would always feel at peace when he is around, knowing that he will never fail to provide salvation. However for himself, it was a lonely duty. He had to burden the weight of hundred of lives, he had to suffer the pain of hundred of goodbyes. Time and time again, he needed to steel himself, and steel himself again. It was getting to a point that he become near numbed to his ordeal. The cheerful boy who could once laugh and cry was no more, the mechanization of the emotionless Reaper was complete now.
April 1st 2148. It was on this day where Shin was assigned to the Spearhead squadron. At that time Shin was only 15 years old. Much like all the other members of the Spearheads, they were all incredibly young with seemingly a life's worth of living ahead of them. But none of them truly held up hope for that promise, for everyone knew the true purpose of the Spearhead name. The Spearhead is the pointed-head at the end of a spear. Its design lends it to be an advancing weapon, used to drive its blade straight through metal. However, owing to how easily it gets stuck upon retraction, weapon-smiths made its pointed-head detachable from the rod. Its purpose then is to simply remain entrenched within the enemy, dying with it and being replaced shortly with a new pointed-head -- In essence, it is a true "suicide" weapon.
Their five-year conscription plan was nothing but a bare-faced lie from the Albas, and the Spearheads have long figured out the white pigs' motive. But what help would knowing do? Will you rally the 86 to storm the city? That might've been possible if you could survive the mine fields laid between. Will you run away from the country? Where to -- All sides are surrounded by oceans of Legion. Perhaps when every single direction you face lies a demon spawn, the only true action you can take is to stand you ground; To defend your brief respite till your final breath. This was all par for the course. Against a world that despised them since birth, the Spearheads have rallied themselves under a monolithic pride: "We are not like the white pigs, we will fight our battles and carry on the will of the fallen." If we have to return to our initial conversation on ideals, this pride of theirs is something born out of desolation, birthed by desperation. In a world so bleak, humans need to find reasons to live; They need the courage to wake up every day; They need the resolve to face their friends' fallen corpses. Hence in every sense of the word, these ideals do not spill blood. They are in essence, their saving grace itself -- The reason why they are still alive and will keep trying to live. And hence, even if the Spearheads are thrown into hordes of Legion everyday, it is in their pride to be better than their cowardly oppressors. Even if they are one day sent into a death march, it is in their pride to fight to their final destination.
It's at this point where we can truly think about what compels Shin. Why obsess over a dead brother who tried to kill you, who you no longer even remember the voice or the face of? Is it all just to honor some fading memory or self-induced pride? Well, let's take a deep-dive into Shin's psyche here. For me, I don't believe Shin even loves himself. Self-love to me, is the ability to do two things: To love your present self unconditionally and to reconcile with the 'past you' which led up to who you are now. It is important that there are two aspects; Loving yourself in the present means being able to accept all your characteristics; Reconciling with the past means being able to forgive the mistakes you once made. This love that focuses on both the present and the past, works in tandem; Failing to do one would lead to the other being incomplete. As we move on in the essay, I want us to keep in mind how this self-love (or the lack thereof) can possibly influence some of our ideals as well, making them either healthy or dangerous.
We can consider the idea of reconciling with the past, with Shin's survivor's guilt. Survivor's guilt is a type of post-traumatic stress disorder, often arising from a person who witnessed death and yet stayed alive. People who have such a guilt would often feel responsible for causing said person to die, despite them having no influence or power to prevent the freak accident. Welp, first off, no lack of corpses for Shin here; Pick and choose (Okay, bad joke). But for now, let us consider how deeply Rei's death affected him. It's important to note that Rei didn't just die; He went into his grave blaming Shin for it. We have already touched on how having no one explain things can make a young kid like Shin internalize the blame, but let's consider his need to make amends as well. The equity theory of survivor's guilt highlights this constant need by patients to weigh their benefits. For example, soldier A just watched soldier B die to an artillery strike. At the very beginning, the guilt manifests in the inability to rationalize: "My friend died and I somehow got lucky". However when soldier A is still fighting out in the heat of war, he doesn't have the time to think about irrational thoughts. And thus, the guilt appears manageable. But then we see soldier A finish his service, get back a normal life, to which it dawns on him: "My friend died and he can't enjoy this normal". The guilt becomes heavier. Maybe he will suppress it with some alcohol or drugs. But with each and every single day forward, soldier A will be carrying that weighing scale. When he meets a girl, you see a coin clink down on his side and the scale angles; When he enjoys a meal, you see another coin and the scale topples. It's a guilt that is starkly pervasive and boundless. Following up with this need to "balance the scale" is the need to recompensate. You want some of your coins to fall on soldier B's side, but how could you? He's already dead. And hence in his desperation, he might take some of the most illogical actions; Perhaps even throwing himself into a Legion horde led by a Dinosauria.
For Shin, every waking hour might have had the question -- "Did I kill Rei" -- Eating away at the back of his brain. Am I extrapolating too much? Maybe, I will say that none of these ideas have been made explicit in the anime. However, how else should I make sense of Shin literally choking himself to death?
Like, okay, I'm gonna step of my analyst role and just say -- What the actual fuck?! Like these hands are illusions conjured up by Shin right? They aren't those liquid machine-hand thingies from Rei? Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong cause the idea of manual strangulation is insane to me?
When you were a kid, have you ever tried an experiment where you wanted to semi-drown yourself in a pool? You wanted to test if you can lose as much breath as possible. However you soon realize that you can never actually drown yourself. That is because your brain will kick into auto-pilot before you let that happen; You'll flail your arms against your will and always be in time to catch that breath. Your body quite literally will forbid you from drowning yourself, well, unless you tie an anchor to your ankle. With all that said, here we have Shin, my boi, literally choking himself with a goddamn scarf. What kind of crazy-ass guilt must you carry to literally induce self-hallucination, to bypass your body's natural mechanisms, and to damn near kill yourself? I don't know about you. But that borders along insanity.
Maybe I'm still extrapolating a little on the front of the equity theory, but I think the core of the matter remains. The amount of survivor's guilt that Shin carries, is way beyond our ability to contextualize. But if I may try; Many soldiers go through life-inducing guilt with dozens, maybe a couple dozens of witnessing their friends dead; Shin has went through five-freaking-hundred of them, with many of them being dispatched with his own pistol. As we move into season 2, we will definitely have many chances to see the manifestations of his guilt. For now, let us conclude the idea of reconciling with the past and ask ourselves -- Has Shin been able to absolve himself from blame?
Perhaps the one miracle is Shin remembering Rei's face again; Memories that were once blotched by crayons unravel, revealing the kind black eyes that his brother once looked at him with. Shin was finally able to hear Rei's true voice; Not the mechanized screeching, but the gentle voice. And as he puts his brother to rest, he received that closure: "I see. You don't need me to hold your hand anymore. I'm sorry." A mission that took five, possibly ten years to fulfil; Not the mission to dispatch his ghost, but the yearning for that explanation, for that apology, for his hero to tell him: "You were not at fault that day, I was." For the first time in many years as well, we caught a glimpse of Shin's true self. Having to steel his heart to meet the atrocities of war, having to numb the pain of losing 500 comrades, the mechanized reaper has suppressed his true feelings for too long. In this moment, Shin was finally free, both from his brother's passing and the shackles of his own heart. And thus, Shin's true emotions burst out like a dam.
However, such a poignant moment might have been the ember which sparked Shin's final war, an internal war whereby his human and reaper self would fight for supremacy. For that EP10 and 11 can act as the first warning signs that are fired. But in retrospect I found that a lot of its themes are echoed in the greater expansion that is season 2. Fortunately I believe I have explored both episodes quite well in my essay -- Where Paradise Resides -- And hence if you are interested to read up on it, feel free to do so. For now though, we have an ad break. Let us instead look at another character who is indispensable, both to Shin and to our overarching question -- Frederica.
Word count: 3, 860 / 15, 600
Frederica Rosenfort
Frederica was born as the princess of the Giadian Empire on February 7th 2139. In that same year, the Empire launched an all-out war against all of its neighboring countries with a deadly weapon named the Legion. Such a war was nonsensical, done so only to satiate the hunger of the Royal Family. But alas, no foreign country would standstill while they watch hell-spawns pour out of a factory. The people and the Federacy army hence stormed the Empire, driving the Royal Family back to a straw fortress by the border. All of this meant nothing to Frederica though. How could it? She was but a child no older than 5. For a kid her age she would play by the golden pond and wonder why men of uniform came back wrapped in red. There was an indirect consequence though and that was in the absence of her family. Nobody had enough time to protect their crumbling fortress, much less a kid who only seeks attention. And thus in the attritions of war, a child was neglected.
But there was a small ray of hope, or perhaps what meant the entirety to Frederica -- An imperial Soldier who she endearingly calls Kiri. Kiri was perhaps the parents she never had, the friend she never knew she needed and the big brother she had always wanted. Kiri would comb her hair. He would play with her in a place where no adults would spare her a glance. When she climbs a tree, Kiri would always be ready to catch her; And when she falls and becomes fearful, he would always be the first one who caresses her, telling her "not to be scared". But it would be an understatement to just call Kiri her big brother. When rebels would storm their home, it was Kiri that always fended off the danger. When Legion would threaten to take her life, it was him who would lose an arm and a leg for her. Kiri was her Skull Knight, the ever kind, the ever protective.
But like an echo of the past, knights like Kiri was destined to lose themselves, for he lost too much -- His family, his friends, his comrades -- Picked off one by one like petals from a white daisy. And eventually, standing in a hostile plain, only one petal remained on his stalk. In the end, fighting to protect his Princess was the only thought that consumed his mind. Perhaps his only ray of hope, perhaps his cry of rage, he crushed humans after humans, Legion after Legion. And when he got back home, he would smile with foreign blood smeared across his lips. He became a ghost that haunts the living, a foreign visage even to Federica.
And finally, the inevitable happened. The Federacy broke through the fortress and slaughtered the Royal Family, leaving all but a lone child. In the humanity of war, it was fortunate that it wasn't Frederica's skull that hung by the end of the banner. But that meant nothing to the distant knight who knew no better. Now, he had truly lost everything. Wandering amongst the empty plain, he burnt in undying rage towards his mortal enemies. But what could a lone soldier do, with no weapon, no armor. Then, perhaps in his bout of insanity, he saw that glint of silver, a hunk of marching terror, impervious to death nor to living. "If we became one, I could destroy all of humanity," he thought, motionless. And hence the silver blade fell, like curtains to a tragedy, and a new play opened up to the Legion named the Morpho.
In a foreign land, in a foreign home, Frederica lived on in secrecy. To remember the smiles of her knight, she would often draw pictures, depicting their happier times together. But she has never stopped seeing his face, for she herself was granted a strange power, for better or for worse. She sees, that amongst the snowy yonder laid the distorted visage who was once her knight. And she sees, that the only way to put her knight to rest was to free him from his mechanical prison.
Therein lies the chance, when five soldiers wandered into her house. Frederica was unsure as to how she should treat them. Her body was that of a 10-year-old, but her mind was perhaps way more mature than what it would seem. The tragedy of young has given her unfiltered verity and having the power to peer into human lives has provided her with unparalleled sagacity. Should she then act like a child? But how does a child without a childhood even pretend to do so? And hence, she settled on what she saw on that one cartoon show on that one TV channel.
Boisterous, overly-cutesy, self-important; This was the 10-year-old persona she decided she would adopt. In the first meeting, she would wolf down cookies, leaving crumbs on her face. She would declare herself as their little sister and proceed to bawl her eyes out when faced with rejection. Of course, the Spearheads weren't exactly thrilled about it, but seeing as if she was just a spoilt brat, they could only grimace silently. However Frederica's pretense is more than meets the eye. Despite all her attempts to act like a real child, her diction revealed a strange blend of intentionality and care. She declared herself as their little sister, but not to be spoilt as one, but as a doll of affection used for spoiling; A little sister "given to heal your wounds", a way to make up for the "family, home and happiness they lost". She much like Ernst speaks in aphorisms, often imparting wisdom about how people seek to bury their past and recompensate for their guilt. These are not words recited from TV though, but words brewed from self-affirmation. After all, who else is trying to bury the past but her? Who else is recompensating for her guilt by volunteering to be her victims little sister?
Perhaps an acute wisdom we can consider deeper is this line:
"It's blood and soil that make a person who they are. If you have neither, and try to define yourself just by who you personally are, when you lose sight of that, you'll quickly fall apart."
There are a multitude of ways we can interpret this line. To start with, we can consider what these words meant to their owner. Blood and soil traditionally means your homeland, your country of origin. For Frederica then, the comment can seem like self-derision. After all, her Royal blood of the Giadian Empire is what had caused her so much pain; She was forced into a bloody conflict she neither understood nor wanted, she had her knight taken away by enemies she didn't remember making, and now she lives in the same country as said enemies. These events almost seem like the tragic fate of an unwilling princess, one constantly haunted by her own "blood and soil". However, consider her tone and context for saying this line: She was neither being self-derisive nor ashamed. Instead she spoke of her with resoluteness and acceptance. Her words were not meant for herself, but as a showing of concern for the Spearheads, letting them know that pride is not enough to sustain them as a person. And thus, what we have here is a child who is no older than ten, with equal if not more scars to carry than the Spearheads, but instead of wallowing in her sorrow, she has came to accept the blood that haunts her, seek to recompensate the mistakes of the country she has no attachments to and further still, to warn these wounded soldiers about the trappings of the fragile mind? Am I looking at a little girl or a freaking old man wearing a sage robe?
It seems Frederica might truly be the only one who can answer my questions about ideals. But alas, ad break is over. As we carry on with our usual program, we will dive back into what "blood and soil" means, but this time, encapsulating all of 86's characters within.
Word count: 5, 210 / 15, 600
The One Without Blood or Soil
By the end of their march to Paradise, Shin has managed to achieve his calling; To free his brother from the Legion. However for him, that had always been his final destination; Where his brother laid would've been his grave. But with heaven's miracle, or perhaps hell's bane, Shin had survive and had landed himself into a "home" he never wanted.
I think it was pretty obvious in season 2 and even as early as EP10 of season 1, that Shin was ever so slightly suicidal. But why that is so, has been one of the most complex questions I have sought to answer. I had once thought of everything to be attributed to his survivor's guilt, after all, that is a one of the biggest reasons why war-torn veterans suffer as much as they do. But I still feel like I've only looked at the stem of the tree, ignoring all of its branches and leaves. And hence in this section, I will try to capture the full picture to all the aspects that Shin possesses, and all the things he lacks.
Let us begin by expanding on the concept of "blood and soil". If we follow suit on the traditional meaning of "homeland", then what Frederica meant to convey is that the Spearheads would need a country that they are willing to call home, or at the very least, a place of respite similar to their once arboreal quarters. This message seems to fit quite nicely to them, especially in episode 2 where they felt almost alien in their country; One scene that encapsulates their feelings pretty well is the dolly-zoom scene.
Or is it call the trolley-zoom? Or the roly-poly-zoom? Actually yea, I think it's suppose to be called the roly-poly. After all the background 'rolls forward' while the character 'pulls backward' -- The Roll-y pull-y zoom! Aha-ha-ha-ha, kill me.
Well anyway, the roly-poly zoom is used to achieve this sort of detachment feeling. It is interesting to note that how the characters are framed changes the meaning quite a bit. In the Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 for example, you see the roly-poly zoom performed on Quill when he learnt that *spoiler censor* his mother. The zoom then brought out the effect of Quill breaking out of his stupor in his epiphanic realization. However in 86, the Spearheads are framed with their backs facing the cameras. The difference then is that the focus isn't on their shocked reactions but in their state of being. They faced the country that they were currently seeking refuge in, but even so, still found themselves pulling back. This feeling of foreignness is further emphasized by the brightness of the country they inhibit, contrasted with the shadows they remain under.
While the roly-poly zoom is consistent throughout all the characters, their meaning can greatly differ from the context within the frame itself.
Anju currently lives in a world where she can pick up hobbies of baking, with housewives that parallels her more maternal and caring nature. However, the detachment comes from the fact that these housewives all have partners that they can return home to, while her partner has scattered into the wind.
Raiden currently lives in a world where he can relax on his menial jobs, filled with the company of fellow broskis. But that foreignness comes from those broskis of him being superficial, if compared to his actual war buddies that would risk their limbs for him.
Kurena currently lives in a world of material abundance, filled with as many girly dresses as she can ever dream of. But perhaps what made those dresses beautiful to begin with, is that they were luxurious in a time when all she wore was her combat uniform. Now that these dresses are infinitely accessible, are they still as beautiful as they once were?
Theo currently lives in a world where he can draw the beautiful sceneries of the city. However, perhaps why drawing was so precious was because it acted like an outlet for him to express himself. Drawing logos on the juggernauts was his form of imbuing personality to otherwise faceless soldiers. How could drawing meaningless city lights compare to that?
And Shin. Well, Shin's just freaking depressed that he didn't die lmao.
Perhaps the people they meet are reasons for their detachment too. In an era of relative peace, the priorities of people are different; Housewives would gossip about men, broskis would joke about women and schoolgirls would fangirl over their dresses. But for our five war veterans, all they could think about is how their fallen comrades are reaching out from their graves. This disconnect will be made worse when the common folks start showing them pity; They shower them with gifts and throw rallies that claim the 86 as miserable victims, when that is as far from the truth as their pride would allow it. However to chalk the detachment the Spearheads feel towards the common folk as just a difference in values and priorities, would be a gross underestimation of their true feelings. There was a certain line dropped ever so suddenly by our great sage of wisdom:
"I felt that I understood you a little today. I looked at the scenery the whole time. It was so beautiful. If you've lived your whole lives surrounded by that scenery, then I felt that maybe I could understand the reason. The reason you're so disinterested in humanity's survival, and your own lives. That beauty exists only because there are no humans there." - Frederica to Shin, S2EP9
Imagine: The color of your hair and eyes being the sole determiner to your worth. Your families and friends being shipped off to internment camps where you live by dregs and draggles. Your parents now in a kiln, dead by the devil's battles. You being forced against your will, to march into the same gallows. How would you feel towards the people who put you there? Hatred, eternal damnation, perhaps none of these words could even capture the amount of hate you would feel towards your oppressors. The distrust you must have may be so ingrained into your blood that no amount of guilt, pity or recompensation can even be enough. The detachment the Spearheads feel may stem from a strong hatred towards humanity itself; That is why beauty is found in the sprawling plains of rolling grass, the vast emptiness of ocean and ice, and the sereneness of fallen civilizations where no human lie. It is there where it doesn't matter that countries wage war over power; It is there where it doesn't matter your race or color; It is there where nature lies untouched by human perversion.
Finding "blood and soil" in the Federacy is hence cut off by the Spearheads mistrust towards humanity. However I am still unsure whether this answer is complete. Hence, I want to go even deeper with our reading of "blood and soil". Consider the conversation Frederica shared with Shin in S2EP4.
When Frederica entered Shin's dreary room, she commented that he should put up some paintings, photos or anything to lighten up the atmosphere. Shin explained by saying that he only uses his room to sleep and thus doesn't need any annoying glamour, to which Frederica retorted: "It's not just a place to sleep. It's a place to live. A place to call home." That is what "soil" is, a home where you feel comfort and safety. Reflect on the mysterious healing effect your room has on yourself; After a long day of dealing with the annoyance that is human interaction, you return back to a place that is seemingly void of everything but yourself. Perhaps a room filled with posters of our favorite anime, lined up with Lena figurines and heck, a dakimakura of her on your bed. It doesn't matter how embarrassing it is for your room is the only place on earth where no other human beings can enter; A place where you can be yourself and no one would judge. Frederica calls it "a place to live", and I would be quick to agree. Your room is your own personal sanctuary, a reflection of who you truly are. How then does that reflect on Shin's personality whose room is completely desolate?
For me, I can even further extrapolate the "soil" to be human connections and memories. When Frederica mentioned that she has been cleaning up Eugene's room, Shin commented on how she shouldn't have talked to him for she would now be burdened with his feelings. Frederica then retorted: "I don't think so. Even if death will eventually tear you apart, it's better to meet someone than not meet them." Consider what "home" means to Lena. Amongst her mother who pressurized her to marry, her uncle who chastised her ideals and a country of ignorant buffoons, Lena had never considered district 1 to be her home. Her "home" had always been wherever her para-raid rang, whether that was in her own room, or on the terrace that one night where the fireworks bloomed. It is where her intimate connections are which defines her home. But what about memories? How does memories contribute? While this may be abstract, I believe we can learn no better than how Anju remembers Daiya. The loss of Daiya must've shattered her, till the point where we may even believe she would want to stop living. But she didn't, or more like she couldn't. For after all, why else would she dream about visiting the North Pole, the place where Daiya promised to take her to see the Aurora? Promises to the diseased, nostalgia for the happier times, even such memories can be powerful enough to motivate one to continue living. We can even look at the Spearheads, for isn't carrying the will of the fallen been our Spearhead pride?
Perhaps a better all-encompassing word for "soil" would be "attachments". Attachments are in essence, external connections that makes you want to stay alive on earth. What would be Eugene's attachments? Well, his room was filled to the brim with photos of his little sister. He enlisted into the army specifically to pay for her education, to protect her. And hence, those photos probably filled him with the needed courage to face the onslaught of the Legion. Eugene's "soil" was hence encompassed by everything that his sister was and everything she stood for him.
What was Shin's attachments? Well at the beginning, it was to fulfil his calling, to free his brother from his mechanical prison. Even though a lot of it was driven by survivor's guilt and a need to recompensate, it still acted like coal to a fire, fueling his motivation to live on. But once he managed to actually do that... Now what? What attachments does he still have to keep on living? At first glance, when I pondered upon Shin's circumstances, I reasoned that that there were ways to give Shin motivation. He could maybe stay in the safety of the Federacy and build a new network of friends, find hobbies that interest him. But as established, the Federacy is as foreign to Shin as the white pigs were to him, and his distrust towards humanity does him no favor.
A second, and perhaps more realistic solution, would be for him to rely on the connections he already has; Raiden, Theo, Anju and Kurena. These are his comrades who has fought through thick and thin with; Perhaps they are even the closest thing to family he has. Surely that itself would constitute as attachments. And yet, with all that said, even his best mates were unable to pull him out of his depressive, self-loathsome state. In my conclusive passage in my essay -- Where Paradise resides -- I sentimentally remarked on how Paradise didn't lie in "the Garden of Eden" or anywhere else; Paradise resided where his comrades are, and that is by his side. What changed between the happiness Shin felt in Paradise-limbo, to the immense despair Shin feels now? I believe that answer lies in one of my favorite frames in 86 -- A frame of a man who is trapped by his past, and barred from living in the present.
In wake of the devastation caused by the Morpho, the Federacy has reached an ultimatum. Our five war veterans would once again serve as the Spearheads, driven into the hearts of the Legion. Furthermore, there was no guarantee of reinforcement, artillery, or recovery; Just a single unit, destined to rot in the flesh of the enemy. "Why them --" When confronted by Grethe, it wasn't Richard who answered, but the fallen themselves. As if woken from their grave from the sheer hilarity of circumstances, they answered -- Proudly -- Because "we are 86!"
Just like Frederica, there wasn't any hint of self-derision or shame. How could there be? For the 86 who has fought all their battles alone, there was no way in hell they would ever lose to mere pigs rolling in mud. And hence as if the patron of a circus, they laughed at their silly actions. They mocked their inability to make sacrifices; They mocked their futile attempts at justifications; And of course, they will always mock their shameful way of life, for the Spearheads would always strive to be the better than their oppressors.
"But that was all because of you," the Spearheads turned their heads to Shin. "We leave it all to you..." The Spearheads seemed to say, as they all collectively shattered into name plates, left for Shin to pick up the fragments. For a unit as noble and brave as the Spearheads, each and every one of their plates probably weigh the worth of a thousand souls. And yet, Shin still manages to lift up each and every one of them, and slug it over his rusted back. 500 of those names plates, a weight far too heavy for Atlas, and yet Shin has managed to trudge through the muddy swamp with them. But then what -- What is he actually fighting for all this while?
For his attachments? To cherish the memories of the dead? That may have given him the will to crawl just a few steps further, but what of the actual people? Not the cackles of the dead, nor some transient mirage, but actual blood-vessel-ed people. The kind that could perhaps help carry a name plate or two; The kind that can walk alongside you and tell you: "You're doing great. I'm proud of you." Is it in Raiden, Theo, Anju or Kurena? No. How could it be? They're fighting in the same hell-spawn as Shin, dragging their calves through mud. Sooner or later they would find themselves sinking as well and once again, it would be up to Shin to pick up the fragments.
There was someone like that though, or at least what Shin had believed to be so. A person who Shin entrusted to "leave flowers"; A person who was supposed to mourn by the flower bed; A person who promised that she will never forget. But perhaps even that was wishful thinking, as the Legion has long since trampled over his wishes. And hence, there was a "goodbye", and then there was none -- No one left to share that weight.
Without attachments, without anyone to walk alongside him, how else do we expect him to live? The only reason why Shin was his happiest after freeing his brother, was because he had envisioned those as his final days, a parade to celebrate his long-enduring return. However the parade didn't allow him to retire, but only led him to be thrown back into the rain of fire.*Sigh* Writing those paragraphs has never made me feel more lonely in my life, and even that is but a drop in the bucket compared to what Shin must have felt. Despite the heavy mood, I'm afraid to say that I still have one final point I need to discuss in this section. Thus far, we have only talked about how Shin lacked "soil", but guess what else he lacks... *Sigh* Back into the depression chamber we go.
If "soil" means attachments, something external. Then what "blood" could mean is something internal -- Yourself. This is an idea we already discussed prior, "blood" is the ability to love yourself; To reconcile with your past and to love your present self unconditionally. We have already seen in S1 how Shin constantly struggled with his past, especially since his survivor's guilt was as boundless as his depression. In fact, this guilt grows ever more powerful in S2, with even bad eggs like Marcel and Nina who sought to scrap out even more blood from Shin's metal heart.
An idea we have yet to consider then is whether Shin is able to love his present self unconditionally. This concept is perhaps the most relatable to all of us. After all, we may not have dealt with survivor's guilt nor been torn from our attachments, but self-love and self-hate has always been our eternal struggle. To achieve unconditional love then, involves one single rule: Regardless of what personality you have, what interests you possess, what values you believe and what dreams you strive for -- You will never compare yourself to others and you will always love yourself.
I bring up comparing because what Shin does is just that. As emotionless as the Reaper wants to be, Shin has always looked at his comrades with envy. The episode that shows this side of him the best is S2EP9, and in one single line too -- "I'm the only one of us who still isn't truly alive. I'm just the Reaper."
Raiden, Theo, Anju and Kurena possesses something he never had -- The ability to stare down a dark future and to hope for a light by the end of the tunnel. To see the ocean, to visit tropical islands, to gaze upon a land of ice, and to think for themselves what to do after the war ends. It isn't like it came easily for the four of them. As we can see from the roly-poly zoom, they struggle with integrating into normal society. However, despite being slightly lost, they aren't completely paralyzed. Like Raiden once said: "I think it'll all work out. It can't be harder than fighting the Legion." But for Shin, it's a whole different ball game. We have seen the amount of guilt he harbors within himself. We have seen the planetary weight that the Reaper had to shoulder alone. When so desperate for even a moment's rest, can we expect Shin to think like Raiden?
What makes his emptiness even worse then is in his envy towards others. Envy is a poisonous emotion; You compare yourself to all the great and fun traits that others possess, and that only casts a darker shadow on how empty you yourself are. The more the Spearheads dream and chase the shooting stars, the more it shines a light on just how unfeeling he is. For all the talk about the Spearheads camaraderie, why is it then that he, the leader, fails to share in their most youthful quality? Why is he so robotic, so pessimistic, when all his other friends are infinitely hopeful?
Well, it can't be hard to figure out the answer now can it? For how can he be hopeful, when all his life he had watch everyone he cares for perish, when even the most idealistic and brave would fall, when even those who claim to walk along side him would soon become mere plates? Shin was right -- The Reaper has never been alive, as he has never walked on the hopeful plane of the living, nor can he rest in the train to Paradise. Like a machine, in the limbo between heaven and earth, he is forever fated to shoulder a weight far too heavy for his young heart to carry.
And hence, Shin has never loved himself. He had never loved his role. He had never loved his emptiness. Everything his comrades are, he envies. Everything he stands for, he hates. And thus what we are left with is one who lacks both "blood" and "soil", and who is perhaps the loneliest man on earth.
Word count: 8, 580 / 15, 600
The Fever Dream
I think everyone probably got their socks knocked off by the fever dream sequence in S2EP11. It is, without question, the single most important sequence that encapsulates every single fear and baggage Shin possesses. However, many of its imagery has already been foreshadowed in earlier scenes to which we have already discussed. Thus in a little bit of a conundrum, I just can't find it in me to just repeat myself. So allow me to compromise, I'm still gonna go through the sequence but this time in a video essay. Of course, we will always run the risk of being slightly less exhaustive, but let's be honest, we've already hit 8500 words in this essay and we could use some conciseness. If you aren't a fan of this kind of things, then it's fine to skip it. The rest of my essay won't be heavily reliant on the imagery we see here.
Word count: 8, 730 / 15, 600
The Trinity of Blood-Soil-Ideals
"It's blood and soil that make a person who they are. If you have neither, and try to define yourself just by who you personally are, when you lose sight of that, you'll quickly fall apart."
Frederica has warned us of this outcome. If you have neither "blood or soil", and you only try to define yourself by your ideals, then what you have is a man who will quickly go insane. In a sense, what she means to say is that ideals alone aren't enough to sustain yourself, you need both attachments and self-love as well. But why is that? Why is it so dangerous just to live purely on ideals alone? Why will that spill blood?
Well if I have to give a simple analogy, it is this: "Blood" is like a train. It concerns the integrity of the body itself. For example, we can consider its weight; Is the train too heavy or too light? We can look at its sturdiness; What is the material used to make the wheels and will it survive the wear and tear?
"Soil" then, is the train tracks itself. It is what makes it possible for the train to stay on the ground rather than simply derailing itself. It is what decides where the train can go and where its destinations are.
And finally, we have "ideals" that are like the fuel, the coals burnt to power the train. Without coal, the train wouldn't even begin to move. And hence, these are integral as a driving force for the train itself.
It is important to note that all three parts are integral to achieve the perfect functioning of a train. What do I mean by perfect functioning? Let's consider a few scenarios.
We have a train with "blood" and "soil"; We're talking about a beauty as perfect as the Orient-Express itself, SSS-class luxury train that only the richest can afford to ride. And the tracks brings you across the beautiful sceneries sprawling across Paris and Constantinople. However, there is one problem -- The guy in charge with inventory forgot to order a few gallons of coal, and thus, the Orient-Express is now stuck back in its train station, rusting away for days.
The train with "blood" and "soil" and yet lacks "ideals", can be used to symbolize Karhstalh Milize. He was a man who was capable and charismatic, enough for him to rise up the military chain. He presumably had his external attachments as well, for he was neither committal to the military or cared that much for it. However, he lacked ideals. He saw through the fallacies of his own country and he had the power to make a difference. But in his nihilism, he has forsaken the ideal that his country can change for the better. And hence, he quietly went by his days and added nothing of value in terms of societal good. For Karhstalh then, we consider this: Has he made full use of his talents or position, if he lacked the drive to do good?
Now we have a train with "soil" and "ideals", but perhaps lacked a little bit of "blood". This then can be Eugene. He had strong attachments to his little sister, so much so that his ideals were to make it so that she lived a better life. However he prioritized her too much, and perhaps neglected his own safety a little. Being reckless enough to risk his life and yet lacking the skill to survive, Eugene-Express thus wasn't sturdy enough for the ride.
Now we have a train with "blood" and "ideals" but no "soil". Well, isn't that the Raiden, Theo, Anju and Kurena? They are plagued with horrible circumstances and hold their own trauma, however they never seemed trapped by it. They have somewhat managed to reconcile with their past and possesses a strong enough personal identity as the Spearheads to love their present self. Similarly, the ideal of wanting to fight till their final destination and carry their comrades final wishes are unparalleled. However, perhaps what they lack is attachments; When they first reach the Federacy, they didn't really have a concept of a future after the war. Their hobbies didn't inspire them nor did they get attached to any of the common citizens. They neither understood the concept of a country nor a home, and they only believed that fighting out in the battlefield is where they belong. In terms of attachment then, nothing really keeps them "tied down" to the ground, and they almost seem nonchalant about how they throw themselves into the mud. Without a doubt, Spearheads-Express always run the risk of derailing and losing their lives.
But now, we have our champion, the rustiest train of all, with a track made out of rotting wood -- Shin -- The man who lacks both "blood" and "soil" and only have ideals. As mentioned before, Shin is plagued with guilt, being unable to reconcile with his past. Shin hates his present self, his role as a reaper and his lack of ability to chase the stars. Shin also have no attachments, with his brother gone and with most of his friends gone. Furthermore, he is so nihilistic that he even believes that his five other blood-vessel-ed comrades should also be marked as gone solely by process of logic and continuity. Even furthermore, as if he really, really, really, wants to make a statement on just how musky of a train he is and how moldy of a track he runs on, we learn that he voluntarily clings onto his guilt towards his brother as a makeshift attachment, without questioning how much more damage he is doing to his own mental health. If I have to give a train analogy for such an action, it would be akin to the train driver tearing apart the metal casings of the train cars and using it to reinforce the rotting tracks. Sure, you've built yourself a track for you to run a few more meters, but your passengers sure as hell won't appreciate that they don't have a roof over their head.
But that's not all! Even when the gust of the wind is literally throwing passengers aboard and the train itself is skiing through mud and grass, Shin decides to throw a whole gallon of coal into the steam engine and is like -- "Alexa, where's my Eurobeat?"
And proceeds to do multi-track drifting, but without the actual track and without even a train. It's like, just Shin sitting on a piece of metal plank, attached to a singular wheel at this point.
Yea... If you didn't get my zoomer sense of humor, that was suppose to illustrate Shin running solely on his ideals alone. He attaches himself to the Spearhead ideals and he runs full steam ahead on that "pride". But because he lacks "soil", he is detached, reckless like the other Spearheads. And furthermore, because he lacks "blood", he is controlled by his guilt and is too nihilistic to even possess a single dream like "going to the ocean". Without those two important factors, does Shin still consider the Spearhead ideals as his personal pride, or some duty the fallen had burdened him with, a mission undertaken to distract himself from how lonely and empty he is?
This is perhaps what Frederica wanted to warn Shin about. The reason why ideals by itself aren't enough sustain him, is because he will lose track of why ideals are worth it in the first place. At the beginning, Shin's ideals are noble, with his fighting to be better than his oppressors. But now, his ideals have degraded into self-hypnosis, with him fighting just so the voices in his head will be drowned out by explosions and gunfire. At the beginning Shin's ideals are also chivalrous, with him fighting to carry the wills of his comrades. But now, his ideals have been twisted into something spiteful, with him questioning his comrades: Why do you "leave me behind and then tell me that we're the ones who fight till the end." And finally, while ideals are in essence supposed to be a motivating force, Shin has twisted it to be his own trappings; He fights not because he aspires, but because of sunk-cost-fallacy; He fights not because he has ambition, but because that's the only thing he knows and he will do so even if he hates it. And thus, can we even consider this to be pure ideals, or ideals that spill blood -- The Tanacetum Coccineum; Scarlet immortality --
(Btw, the show used the symbolism of Tanacetum Coccineum (Robinson's Red) once in EP3 and then abandoned it, which is a shame considering how apt of a contrast it is with the white daisies. That or I'm blind and missed further references to it. Shame me with your comments if I did.)
So the answer to our question is simple: Ideals spill blood when you lack self-love or have no attachments. In that nihilistic state, you will more than likely be too desperate in your actions and be too emotional for just cause. And hence, your reckless pursuits will ultimately lead to spilt blood.
Word count: 10, 260 / 15, 600
The Testament of Blood-Soil-Ideals
What makes the conversation between Lena and Shin so good? I think anime always has us spoilt on action scenes, hyperbolic reactions and chuuni-like dialogue. But when it comes to long-drawn out conversations like S2EP11, we're always like: "How did the show writers make characters talk for 20 minutes and still make it entertaining?"
The first answer is the obvious ones right? This conversation is the emotional climax of this season. Having come out of a fever dream which dug us into the lowest point of Shin's psyche, we now have the ultimate moment of cathartic upheaval, lifting Shin out of his depression and propelling him forward in his development. The one who does so is also the main character of season 1. Having reentered into the fray in her long leave of absence, she is given the most pivotal role in S2 and in Shin's life, being the heroine who will drag our hero out of his slump. This is a scene of emotional pathos, character growth and a meeting of two star-crossed lovers. What isn't there to love?
But perhaps what makes these scenes all the more nuanced to me, is the monumental battle of hope and despair. The analogy I always attribute to these long conversations of confessions and affirmations, is one of a tug-o-war. You have one character be on the side of despair, often pulling back and escaping from the other; On the other side you have the one carrying hope, desperately fighting back and trying to pull the other closer. A powerful spar of words, fought between the shield of confessions and the spear of affirmation; And adding to all that, a tinge of romantic revelations as well, which makes it all the more sweeter.
One of my all-time favorite anime scenes is EP18 from Re:zero. It features the same push and pull of two characters, one dwelling in despair and the other filled with infinite hope. It is extremely romantic, intimate, but most of all, dense in concepts and internal conflicts. It highlights the insecurities belying Subaru, and every time Rem tries to say nice things, Subaru's insecurities spiral even deeper, diving into emotions of laziness, cowardice and worthlessness. Rem will then counter with equal concepts of adoration, gratitude, and ultimately seeks to teach Subaru of the concept of repentance and self-confidence. Ignoring all the waifu bait criticisms, there are a lot of different ideas being tackled with every word spoken, with every tug our characters give to the rope. And hence, it brings me no greater joy to be the one, after 6 years of simping for Rem and 6 months of simping for Lena, to now be the one who explains to you each and every concept that is hidden in the words of our beloved characters.
And hence we begin with Shin reaching out for the butterfly of death, a desperate plea for some kind of twisted metamorphosis, the reversal of life. But reality has knocked on his door. As he broke out of his stupor, he finds himself back in his metal coffin, neither delivered to grace nor gifted the voices of survivors. Alone and empty, he saw the first signs of "life" he could attach himself to: The bubbled name plate of his brother.
However as discussed before, this wasn't some sort of pleasant memory, but instead a pair of penitent shackles he chains himself to. After all, prisoners do as the jury says, and Shin need not concern himself with the future if guilt sentenced him to a life of labor. This would be his final ray of hope, the only sliver of reason he can find to live. And yet, even with all that said, Shin remains barred from reaching out to his brother's plate, unable to grab onto that final form of deliverance. Trapped inside his metal coffin then, Shin releases a guttural cry for help.
Finally! A single legion unit, encroaching upon him like a ghastly reaper. It is what Shin has always wanted; The personification of guilt, bringing down its silver scythe upon him. He cries out, "kill me" to tempt it to free him from his half-blood body. And yet for some strange reason, why was he shaking as if he was fearful of death? Was it just the "Reaper" side of his survival instincts rebelling, or did some part of his human self wished for better? Regardless it didn't matter, for better or for worse, for the deliverance was interrupted.
Shin was perplexed by the sudden visitor. It wasn't like it would be his comrades for his nihilism already shipped them off. He hence turned his head to a distant flutter of blues. They were the butterflies of death, scattering from the battlefield. Perhaps a premonition of some sorts, warding off the twisted metamorphosis that was wished for. But what was perhaps most eye-catching was the field of lycoris that painted across the surface -- Haganbana, likened to the flowers of Heaven.
Was this a calling of salvation or another form of deadly deliverance? Shin couldn't know, but its answers would lie on the harbinger of such a change, the stranger of silver, the wind that scattered death itself. She approached, now standing in the same field of red as Shin. Her first act was to communicate with the immobile machine, albeit to little avail. This prodded her to clench her fist in frustration, an odd gesture to a soldier she had and will never meet. Shin as unwilling as he was, returned a reply to his "savior" and both of them engaged in their inquiries. Their conversation wasn't normal and perhaps built on dissociative communication. Neither parties can see the others' facial reactions, nor could they grasp the nature of each others' voices. Hence when the stranger asked Shin, "why are you alone?" She couldn't sense the self-derisive smile that weighted on his face.
But perhaps the first tug of the rope would be from the stranger herself. Perked by Shin's offer to save her, she instead replies: "I will stay in this country. Even if I'm not strong enough, I will stay and fight."
'What a strange thing to say...' Shin thought to himself. 'Why would anyone stay and fight in a long forsaken country, both by its own military and by their own ignorance? Why fight a meaningless battle?' he sighed. But he isn't ignorant to the irony of his thoughts. For the words of this strange lady used to mirror his own ideals. The Spearhead pride: To always fight where battles rage for they have to always be above their oppressors' cowardice. But now having carried that pride till the very end, having even defeated the Morpho, Shin once again arrived at the barrenness at the end of train tracks.
"Fight? Why? Are you in a hurry to die? Then you would've done better not to fight at all." Shin mocked the lady, just as surely as he mocked himself. For him, he recalled back to the countless opportunities of the past: Faced with the Legion, faced with unparalleled peril, if only he had just lifted his hands off that steering stick. His past self was incorrigibly dumb, for now, the present lament upon his meaningless --
And then, a familiar voice strikes the bell. Like a voltage running through the machine, Shin was jolted from within the swamp by the resonance in his para-raid. But Lena didn't stop there. Words poured from her heart, continuing to tug at the rope. She would speak about "not forgetting" and about carrying the will of the Spearheads. Words that Shin has heard a million times before and with none of them being able to penetrate his metal heart. And yet, why does his heart flutter now? What changed?
Perhaps the difference lies in not what was said, but who was saying it. See, the Spearheads always had a master plan. Ever since they were relisted under the Spearhead unit, they had sworn to cherish their remaining days with their heads held high. However, there was a slight miscalculation, in the form of a girl of silver mien. In the beginning, they treated her as how they would do for any of the white pig; Pampered, ignorant, a girl with seemingly too much ego and time on her hands. However actions speaks louder words, and hence slowly but surely, Lena's little acts of compassion extended beyond the golden platitudes. Shin in particular, was the last person we would expect to grow closer with Lena. After all, like Shin has mentioned to Frederica: "Why build connections with someone who wouldn't matter, who will be gone in the future?"
However what Shin didn't expect was that Lena would hold memories of his brother. Perhaps more importantly then was that these weren't memories of a ghastly visage or the voices in his head, but rather a hero who had saved her when she was a child. Yes, the Skull Knight himself, the kind brother who he had no longer remember his face or voice of. She would tell Shin stories about his knight in shining armor. She would recount about how fondly he speaks of his little brother, the lil kiddo who liked chocolate. When Shin asked whether his brother was smiling, she replied gently: "Yes, he had such kind eyes." And just so slightly, the blotching crayons would fade. To him, Lena wasn't some pampered Alba, nor was she merely a compassionate Handler -- Lena was the living proof that his hero once existed.
Their relationship will grow even more intimate; One whereby they shared memories; One whereby they shared concerns; One where they could even share the experience of fireworks together, perhaps not in the same place, but at the very least under the same night sky. In one of the greatest showings of faith, Shin even passed on some of the roles of the "Reaper". Under the fireworks, he requested for Lena to remember them. Before their death march, he wished that she would live on. And in the Spearheads march to Paradise, Shin gave her a duty that only she can accomplish: "If one day, you make it to our final destination, will you please leave flowers?" These are duties he had never once relinquished, even to his closest of compatriots, but he trusts Lena enough to do so.
But we can make the argument: Perhaps the only reason why Shin trusted Lena more than his comrades, was because she didn't need to fight. His role of the "Reaper" was one in which he has to always trudge through the barren swamp. But for Lena, her role was only to "leave flowers", to reside by the flower beds and mourn every passing moon. The trust was birthed by the irony that Lena would and will never walk beside them.
But -- The living voice strikes the bell. Here she was, warding off the death of her retainers, carrying on the will of the fallen in the lycoris field and standing under the same rain of fire as Shin. Now, she isn't only the living proof of his brother's kindness. She is the living proof that there is someone who won't forget; There is someone who stayed alive; There is someone who has made it her life's mission to carry the will of the fallen. Herein lies the first tug: Letting Shin know that there are people who could live and carry his duties. And slowly, we see the bars of guilt fade.
But the wounds from his war-torn journey weren't that easily healed. It can't be. After all, how could a girl who had only survived a single battle, be compared to the lives of 500 who fought a war and couldn't live to tell the tale? Shin's disposition wouldn't be considered nihilistic if it could be that easily swayed. He needed more proof; And thus, he tugged back and asked: "Those people died a long time ago, didn't they? What duty do you have to the dead?"
It is interesting to note that Shin chose not to reveal his identity when he asked this particular question. The reason is speculative; He may just be a shy boy talking in front of his crush for all we know. But for me, he chose to remain anonymous so that nothing could influence Lena's answer. If Lena would have known that Shin was the one asking, her answer might have been tainted by her sentimentality, perhaps saying something like: "Because you're the one who asked me to remember the dead."
However, while that may be the answer that Shin the human, would like to hear, that wasn't the golden platitudes that Shin the "Reaper", could accept. The Reaper is the loneliest man alive, always having others pass on ahead of him and incapable of possessing attachments. The Reaper is the machine that lives in limbo, never chasing the stars like the living, nor ever having rest as the dead. The Reaper is the most tragic boy that have ever existed, fated to carry a weight far too heavy and yet discover that nothing lies at the end of his journey. As its embodiment, Shin was almost begging for an answer, crying for it. He wasn't asking Lena what duties she had to the dead, he wanted to know for himself: "What duties do I have to the dead? Why have I suffered for so long in this role that I no longer believe in?"
In her purity, she replied: "They told me not to forget. They told me to survive. They told me to chase after them." In this answer, what she emphasized on is on the mark that Shin has left on her. She didn't just survive because of luck or willpower, she survived because Shin had believed in her. For all his life, Shin only believed that he had brought misfortune to others. He shackled himself with survivor's guilt, believing that he was to be blamed for claiming the lives of 500 souls. But here stands the living proof of the one soul that he has saved instead. The one girl that manages to live because of his positive influence. The living proof that he isn't only the reaper who claims lives, he can be something more. Therein lies the second tug: Letting Shin realize that his journey isn't meaningless, isn't something dreadful, but instead can save lives.
'But what?' Shin thought to himself. 'I have lived my whole life thinking that the only thing I strive for was to be burdened by the weight of the fallen. I have lived my whole life thinking that the only deliverance I can attach myself to was the guilt I felt towards my brother. What else can I strive to do?' Shin was still a little loss. Being reassured of a small accomplishment doesn't entirely negate the fact that in his nihilism, Shin remained without ambition, never having thought about his future.
"Because I want to take them beyond this battlefield." Lena continued as she held onto the picture of the Spearheads. What a noble ideal that Lena has, but perhaps what we may forget through all of Shin's depression is that that used to be his ideal as well. He used to believe in that final destination. He used to carry 500 plates so that he could bring the fallen beyond the battlefield. Like Frederica often jab at him: "You're one to talk. Mr. Kind and Gentle Reaper." He had only forgotten all of this somewhere along the line, due to his lack of "blood and soil". And therein lies the third tug: Re-inspiring Shin and making him remember the pure ideals he once possessed.
At this point, Shin's heart may have already soften tremendously. And perhaps his "Reaper" self had gotten a good enough answer for the question of 'why bother with the dead'. However that pertains to "ideals", which only consists a part of our trinity of blood-soil-ideals. The train may have temporarily received the coal needed to move again, but what say of the train itself, or the track it runs on.
"And you..." Lena persisted, which made Shin gasped in surprise. "You're the same. You fought to the end. You survived." This time Lena wasn't speaking to the "Reaper" side of Shin. She was speaking to the shadow beneath the "Reaper", the human named Shinei Nouzen. Yes, how could we have forgotten? That the person who always belied the reaper was a boy who was slightly bratty and full of zeal; The one who used to draw and play ball; The one who used to admire his brother as the Skull Knight. It was only in his brother's accusations and by facing the deaths of many did Shin slowly hardened into the mechanized "Reaper". But Shin has never forgotten who he is; Even now when he has embodied his persona, he has and will always yearn to be the boy who chases his brother --
So we too as well, shouldn't forget. And it is also with that understanding can we truly appreciate the beauty underlying Lena's most important words to this boy no older than 16: "I think that is something you should be more proud of."
In that moment, Rei's name plate fell; The same plate that carried his haunting voices, his suffocating guilt, his enduring duty as the reaper. None of these things mattered in that moment for Lena's words scattered all of them and penetrated the heart of the one beneath, the one who mattered most. Shin's tears rolled down, his child-like emotions free to be expressed. He broke into a sincere smile, the smile of a 16 year old boy who finally received validation for all his suffering. And he choked on his tears, the overwhelming gratitude of the same boy who could hear such beautiful things at the end of his journey. Therein lies the fourth and most important tug: Letting Shin know that he can be proud of himself and that he can be rewarded for all the blood, sweat and tears he had to fight through.
We have spoke of the "blood" in our trinity. And these were the words that have directly injected blood straight back into Shin. After all, by being proud of himself, Shin can take the first steps to dispel the negativity attributed to Rei's name plate. And it also by being proud of himself can he do the most important thing in self-love -- To appreciate his efforts, to see the beauty in his rewards and to love himself because of it. We can even consider how he no longer needs to feel envy, for he has already rekindled his noble ideals and now shares the same dreams with Raiden, Theo, Anju and Kurena: To take the fallen, and more importantly the living beyond this battlefield, to see the ocean and to arrive at Paradise.
Wow, my heart is melting and so must Shin's. And I'm still not even done, for after all we've only achieved two things out of the trinity. But this time I am happy that I have more to talk about.
What happens next is a series of beautiful things that all persisted at the end of Shin's journey. Raiden, Theo, Anju and Kurena all survived and cried out his name. And what followed was the same ol', same ol'; Raiden and Anju chewing him out, Theo teasing others and Kurena bawling her eyes out. Even the older members of the Nordlicht squad has survived. In an apt manner, Raiden scoffed at Shin: "No one left you behind, you dumbass!" Perhaps things stayed the same ol', but that is the beauty of it. Now, not only Lena, the rest of members all act as living, breathing refutations to Shin's nihilism, smirking at his pointless concerns. And such a cheeky sight is also something that Shin wouldn't have been able to enjoy if he had continued believing that nothing laid at the end of his journey. But the one who will bestow our last form of pillar to Shin, would be our cute lil' sister, Frederica.
Once again in her usual nonchalance, she imparted on Shin the things he needs to hear the most: "You have your answer. If she's going forward, there needs to be something for her to see down the path she follows. She follows the path that you create. So what is your destination?"
The "soil" or attachments -- Other than to fulfil your satisfactions, who else do you fight for? Who is the person you can form deeper connections and make memories with? Who is the person you can stand beside and call it your 'home'? In that moment, Shin came to the realization about how working hard for the sake of others can be motivators too. And this time, not for the visages of the dead, but working hard for the sake of blood-vessel-ed people. It could be striving to stay alive for his four comrades, it could be striving to remain as the caring big brother to her surrogate little sister. But there's no need to pick and choose; In the case of human connections, the more, the merrier; The more, the stronger. And for Shin, he has set his sights on another girl who he now vows to work hard for. And hence, no longer reaching for the butterflies of death, Shin now has begun reaching out for the girl of silver. And therein lies the fifth tug, the "soil": Letting Shin strive for the living, rather than be trapped by the dead.
Furthermore, because it tickles my poetic soul, I find it necessary to mention the cyclical nature that is brought about by the lines: "She follows the path that you create. So what is your destination?" In this scene Lena has confessed that she strives as hard as she does because of what Shin has imparted in her. And now, we go full circle, as if an act of repayment, Lena has unknowingly imparted back the same ideals that Shin had forgotten about, back into him. Two people, intimately connected by how they uplift each other, always striving to chase after one another, and finally wanting to show their partner the beautiful sceneries that lie beyond the struggle. That is about one of the most poetic, intimate and powerful themes that you can ever write in a budding romance. Shin and Lena is literally a power couple and you cannot convince me otherwise.
And thus, there you have it. The tug-o-war match between Shin and the living; The beautiful moment which allowed Shin to gain 5 things that he can remember and live for; The testament to how Shin has managed to recover his trinity of blood-soil-ideals. And let's not forget, the cherry on top that is Shinlena.
Word count: Rush on to the end!
What 86 is about?
In my concluding section of my essay -- Where Paradise Resides -- The philosophy I got out of 86 was that of a humanist tale. For S2 though, I think the philosophy is a greater expansion on that idea -- 86 is a story about "the beauty in the struggle".
This philosophy is the focal point of S2EP12. The scene where Shin visiting Eugene tells the tale of such. He reflected about his experiences and told Eugene that he still struggles to find a concrete reason to fight for, but he will continue to take everyone to see new sights as he seeks after that answer. Such an attitude is a far cry from past Shin who literally would dodge all of Raiden and Frederica's probing. The core of the message then remains clear: Shin has begun to believe that even if he is lost now, he need not despair. He need not instantly jump to the thought that everything is meaningless. Even if he remains unsure, there are still many things he can do, many beautiful sights he can see; Even if it's something as small as "seeing the ocean together" -- In essence, the journey is worth enjoying, not just the destination.
Similarly, we touch back on the theme of "having hope that there will be beautiful things at the end of the destination". After all, if Shin had given up early, he wouldn't have had an opportunity to reunite with Lena, to greet his surviving comrades and to learn that Marcel and Nina had wanted to mend their relationships.
This connects to the third theme: "The reason why you should believe that there is hope at the end of the destination, is because people can change". Shin has always been so static and stubborn with his thought process that he fails to see that. This can be owed to how he has always covered his ears to the living and only listened to the dead. However, now that he has begun to learn that he has a duty to the living as well, this should be his next step. This draws back to the idea of the Spearheads' distrust in humanity itself. While it is true that Lena has returned and stands as living proof to the good of humanity. 86 isn't so kind that it will ignore the bad eggs, such as the Albas that will still spout racist ideals when you come save their country. If I would have to guess at the next stage of development for the Spearheads and Shin, it is to further reinforce their "blood and soil" and to rebuild the trust they can feel towards the wider common people. After all, the final goal in development for war veterans is always to reintegrate back to society after the war.
And hence there you have it, the philosophy of 86: There is beauty in the struggle. For the journey is always filled with little sights to see, and the destination is always the hopeful unknown. Never just be caught up by the bad things you see for even the bad things may be temporary and be improved tomorrow.
Afterword
Holy fucking shit, 15, 626 words. I'm freaking smashed dude. I begun writing this shit back last Sunday. And I spent at last the past 8 days putting in at least an average of 8 hrs daily. That's like what 64 hrs on one essay? Jesus, never again...
Well, it was fun for me though. Coming up with the concept of blood-soil-ideals and trying to contextualize it with all the key moments of the show was bloody difficult, but it was worth seeing it come to life. Or at least I hope that I managed to paint out my concept well-enough, let me know if you understand it and shame me if you thought it made zero sense. By the way, since I wrote all of this between such a long span of time, you can kinda tell that I got lazy in my writing towards the end, especially in the section about the philosophy of 86. You could tell that I just vomited all the ideas out in the paragraphs and called it a day lmao. Don't blame me man, I'm so smashed, I'm too tired to even try to present my ideas in a flowery package. Maybe I will re-explore it in a separate essay but for now those are just my general feelings.
And for my final take away of this essay, I just have one message: I think like many others, I will always remember S2EP11 as the episode with crazy visuals and epic music. After all that is the most obvious and more palpable qualities pertaining to why we love Anime. But I hope that with this essay, you can remember that the conversation had another quality to be proud of, and that is the ability to resolve almost twenty different themes and ideas that the show-writers had painstakingly left breadcrumbs of. And honestly I think the ability to tie so many ideas together, present them in a multitude of apt imagery and dialogue, is a story-telling technique that is on par with the epic Ost or the beautiful visuals. You can forget all the silly concepts I discussed throughout this essay, but I implore you to remember this: 86 is a show that is massive only because of the sheer attention to details. The writers have thought through everything they have shown on screen; Every parallel, every contrast, every lighting, every flower, every frame, every musical note, every dialogue, every everything. There is greater meaning to be sought out by connecting the breadcrumbs to their climaxes. If I didn't manage to convince you with idea of blood-soil-ideals, then I implore you to go seek out your own readings of 86. I am sure with a show that is as thought-provoking as this, my concepts are but a drop of a bucket to the countless others that are hidden.
Welp, I'm gonna go crash into my bed. And thus, I will leave you with one last video, an AMV that I made about S1 of the show. And thus, ends my final (?) tribute to one of the best shows I have ever seen. As everyone's favorite detective would say -- O-mothafucking-7.
Really good work again. I was hoping you would release something on the second season and you did the day after I found your work. Nice.
ReplyDeleteHahaha thx so much! Glad you enjoyed reading it.
DeleteShoot... I wish I read this before I made my video, oh well. Still an excellent read as always
DeleteAhahaha you are making a part 3 right? You can add that in there. But I didn't really talk about a lot of the visual eastereggs this time tho. Its just rambling on and on about big concepts.
DeleteHaha, I found another person who writes these excessively long essays on 86. Mine is over 6,000 words now lmao
ReplyDeleteOh nice! Mind sharing the link so I can check it out?
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