Alternative History and Fate/Zero

All this talk about art and history has got me thinking.  I've always had a decent interest in history, and world history specifically.  I strongly believe that it's important to learn from our past so that we don't repeat it.

Alternative history has recently gained my interest.  I define it as the "what if's" and "could have been's".  Sometimes, history isn't all what it seems, especially since the victors of wars are the ones to write it.  And nothing is preventing it from being rewritten...  The conspiracy and pseudo-science filled Assassin's Creed franchise is one example.  I'll expand on that lore in another post.  For now, I want to look at the Japanese media franchise, Fate/Zero.  It's actually the prequel to Fate/stay night, which was originally a Japanese visual novel, essentially a character driven narrative consisting of a video game and a dating simulation with some very suggestive/explicit themes.  I never got into Fate/stay night or its subsequent anime adaptation, but the Fate/Zero anime adaptation really captivated me.

The plot: 7 "Masters" each summon a "Heroic Spirit" from the past in one of 7 classes (Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker).  These "Servants" then battle it out in Fuyuki City for the coveted Holy Grail.  This particular battle royale is the fourth Holy Grail War.

Although there are many aspects of magic and fantasy, the most interesting and relevant part of Fate/Zero are the Servants, as they are each based on a once living or mythological person.  The main protagonist is Saber, who is actually King Arthur, King of Knights.  Forced to ascend to the throne, she sacrificed her otherwise normal feminine life to save Britain.  Another hero, Rider, is Alexander the Great, also known as Iskandar and the King of Conquerors.  In both cases, as seen below, they defy what we know about these historic figures: King Arthur was actually female, and Alexander was not a short man as he is described to be.  More historical comparisons can be found here.

Aside from using real historical backgrounds and mythologies, the series delves into much philosophical ideals, with themes including morality, being a king, insanity, and tragedy.  The series is also beautiful, both visually and aural.  I could wax on and on about how awesome the franchise and series is, but I will spare you, because videos are worth a million words.  :)

Archer (Gilgamesh) versus Berserker (Lancelot), while the rest of the heroes watch in awe.  Notice the insanely fluid animation and epic soundtrack.  Watch it on the YouTube page for maximum awesomeness.  Later, they fight in the air on friggin' jets.  No lie, but YouTube has since removed those clips.

YouTube's pretty anal about removing copyrighted material, so here are links to the opening themes on Vimeo.  They offer a great glimpse into what the series is about in 1.5 minutes each.

http://vimeo.com/39703992

http://vimeo.com/39949297

Amazing ending theme depicting each of the heroes in historical context: http://vimeo.com/31497071

The action scenes and deep character interactions in the anime kept me interested.  I've since looked up each historical figure and learned a lot.  It's legally streamed at Crunchyroll, and the series will end with episode 25 at the end of June.  I'm glad this series was picked up for simulcast (simultaneous broadcasting in places other than Japan), because it deserves as much exposure as possible.  I dare say this is better than that Game of Thrones that everyone talks about nowadays...  Although I admit, I should watch that too.

The Dangers of Knowledge

After reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, it's obvious that knowing too much could, to put it bluntly, lead to really bad things.  In my paper, I related this concept to Fullmetal Alchemist, a very popular long running franchise in print (manga, or comics, published since 2001) and animation (a 50+ episode series running from 2003-2004 with its remake of 60+ episodes in 2009-2010, each followed by feature length films in 2005 and 2011).

The narrative is essentially about two brothers, Ed and Al Elric, who learn alchemy.  Their mother dies suddenly when they're very young.  Having learned alchemy from the materials left behind from the father who left the family, the brothers attempt the forbidden act of resurrecting their mother.  Disaster strikes, as the resurrection is impossible; you can't bring back the souls of the dead.  The brothers are permanently scarred with Ed losing an arm and a leg, and Al losing his entire body and having his soul bound to a suit of armor.  Despite all this, they embark on a journey to find the Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies... and in pursuit of more knowledge, they find more suffering...

Below is an English dubbed trailer by Funimation (inferior to the original Japanese version, but the only Japanese ones I can find are from the official website and they don't have subtitles...):

RE: "Guys and Dolls" Documentary

This is in response to the documentary, "Guys and Dolls", that we saw in class today.  Indeed, the people in the documentary are not "normal".  They seek genuine companionship in inanimate but lifelike dolls.  Humans are social creatures, but sometimes, it doesn't always work out right.  As stated by some of the men in the video, they had bad experiences with real women or other circumstances (mother's sudden death for instance) that prompted them to seek out alternative partner options.

Unlocking the DNA Potential

John Craig Venter (TED profile) and other brilliant scientists have, in the last decade, made amazing strides in the area of genetics.  These scientists have been sequencing the human genome and discovering what genes cause certain traits in us, from physical traits like eye color to mental disorders and dispositions like OCD and addictive behavior.

Despite being within us, and is the building blocks for our existence, we are still learning more about our DNA.  This reminds me of one science fiction (or is it?) theory that our DNA contains the memory of our ancestors.  The Assassin's Creed video game and media franchise takes this idea to the next step.  Using advanced technology under deep secretive conspiracy, we can explore the memories of our ancestors and see what they saw, hear what they heard, and experience what they had experienced in their lifetime.

But wait, all this in our own DNA?  One simple explanation can be seen with migratory birds.  How do they know to fly to the south when winter strikes the north?  Their parents never taught them.  And they've been doing this as long as they have existed.  Therefore, the foresight, or even the memories of their predecessors, must be built into their DNA to tell them to migrate when the weather turns sour.  Crazy?  Definitely.  Plausible?  I think so.  Will it happen within the next decade?  Perhaps not, but further research would need to be conducted...

Beauty and Perfection

Two concepts that aren't necessarily one and the same.  Often in the media I consume, I find myself subconsciously critiquing works.  I may find some works to be absolutely beautiful, and yet, they are far from perfect.  The reverse is also true, when I think a piece is perfect (or as close as it can be), but not beautiful at all.

One example I want to use is the Japanese animated feature film, 5 Centimeters Per Second, directed by one of my favorite visual artists, Makoto Shinkai.  There is a very poignant quality to the film, especially with its themes of lost love and physical distance between people.  I want to focus on the art though.  Shinkai is known for his stunning and photorealistic landscapes and scenes, but the character art itself is very simplistic, and arguably lacking in detail.

Despite the beauty and attention to detail for everyday objects and landscapes, the characters lack facial features in certain scenes.  It may be done on purpose in some aspects, but overall, this combined with the story's lack of "closure" prevents it from being a true "perfect" masterpiece, although it still remains my top favorite Japanese animated film.

(I'll be talking more about this film as future topics relate to it!)

First Post!

This blog will feature posts about art, technology, and their use in contemporary culture.  I am a big fan of video games and Japanese media, so I will attempt to relate these areas to in-class topics.  I may also blog about some interesting things in my other courses and within my workplace as I strive to finish my last semester of my undergraduate career.  I've never been one to frequently blog, so wish me luck!

-Kevin