I N T E R D I ME N S I O N A L M A T T E R T R A N S P O R T E R VOLUME I ISSUE I MAY 2014 CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION MONOMYTH PAGE 1 VIDEO GIRL AI: ILLUSION OF PERFECTION PAGE 3 THE ART OF JUNJI ITO PAGE 5 PSYCHOANALYSIS AND EVANGELION: A PRIMER PAGE 8 ソフビ LIFESTYLE PAGE 10
MONOmyth Throughout the history of human thought, mankind has held closely to its bosom, an idea of a world beyond the physical realm. It is often debated that “religiosity” is an innate characteristic in the human psyche. This is the eternal search for meaning, purpose, and a power beyond knowledge. These are facets of the human race’s own monomyth, taking the ordinary, and transforming it supernaturally, to find a completely different way in which to interpret the world. Storytelling sheds light on what might be overlooked, and creates an aura of wonder in our surroundings. The kingdom of the Otaku, is built upon this wonder. Otaku originated as a derogatory term for those who were obsessed with a particular aspect of hobby and culture. This included model building, video games, military history, animation, comic books, trains, and a myriad of things that contain within them, a limitless amount of consumable media. In the past fifteen years, this term has changed to almost exclusively refer to those obsessed with Anime, Manga, Video Games, and all related content. Some have actively accepted this term, and companies and other entities have recognized the importance of this self identification. These media powerhouses have built a market that caters exclusively to this demographic. In America, where only recently has Anime and Manga been so accessible, the Otaku culture follows very closely with the series and media that the giants of publishing choose to release. The problems that many have seen with large publishers, pushing the latest, slickest series, is that at times it seems to almost ignore the storied history of both anime itself, and the struggles of Otaku culture prior. Many younger fans are clueless about a majority of series that came out before their time, and some choose to remain ignorant. The memories of things past, on paper, on film, and in our minds, are among our most holy relics. The stories and beliefs that have shaped many are so often forgotten, only wistfully touched on at random intervals. Here in these pages, is a preservation of memory, drawing parallels with the present and future. The true Otaku, the ones who have never forgotten, have been anxiously waiting the day to share their experiences with the world. The time is now, the place is here. Our experiences differ greatly, but our purpose remains the same. Just as our forefathers fought to establish anime, manga, and videogames as something beyond mere child’s play, we intend to carry this beast to the next generation. It is our own myth, full of the same beautiful wonder that took us this far, that will bridge the gap between our world and yours. God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.
Illusion of Perfection In The Digital Age I first learned of Video Girl Ai within the dizzying catalog in the back of Viz comics I used to buy at the bookstore at the mall. There were advertisements for the VHS Tapes, along with listings of merchandise you could buy, and I was eager to check it out. I loved the story in the first graphic novel, and in the first VHS tape called I’m Here For You. I didn’t find much more media related to this series, but it was always something I enjoyed. The story is classic, a boy named Yota Moteuchi has a crush on a girl in his class, who winds up being in love with his best friend. Heartbroken, he goes to a local video store, and rents a “Video Girlfriend”. (Video Girlfriends are/were a big thing in Japan, and are continued today with Virtual Girlfriends and Dating Simulator games that are popular among lonely men, but more on that later.) This video girl is named “Ai Amano” with her program titled “I’ll Cheer You Up”. Yota brings the tape home and puts it into his VCR. The video starts, and Ai begins to address the viewer about their unrequited love, and offers comforting words. Yota watches intently, when suddenly, Ai comes out of the VCR, and appears in front of Yota. After a lot of confusion, Ai begins to coach Yota about girls and relationships, while a perplexed Yota tries to keep up with her antics. Ai and Yota begin “dating” (in a loose sense) and try to build up Yota’s confidence to be with other girls, including the one he likes. As the story progresses, Yota realizes that Ai will only be there as long as her tape is still playing, and will disappear soon after. Lines between reality and simulation are heavily blurred, leaving our main characters in a stalemate of emotional repression. I’ve always had a soft spot for light-hearted, romantic comedies. The cornier, the better. With anime, it’s no different. Recently, I re-watched this six part OAV series, and it struck me in an entirely different way than it did when I first saw it. I have had an increasingly growing issue with people texting, playing with phones, online dating, and virtual relationships in general. From the outside, it seems like I just need to get with the times, accept the reality of technology, and an increasingly virtual society. Alas, my problem switched from a personal issue, to a global one, when I began to research Japan, and their problems with love, romance, and ultimately, the continuation of its people. While video girls and virtual girlfriends are nothing new, the age of the internet has transformed our view of interpersonal relationships. People of my generation (born after 1990), have grown up on the internet. During the coming of age period, instead of the traditional mystery and wonder regarding sex and relationships, young people can turn to the internet to answer their questions and fulfill their needs. The internet soon becomes the hub of one’s knowledge regarding relationship dynamics, and through it, people develop their own sense of what they believe healthy and normal relationships should be. Mirroring Yota’s own rejection and embrace of simulated romance, young people become conditioned to do the same in certain circumstances. Be it romance, companionship or a purely sexual relationship they seek, if it’s not available in real life, it can appear to be available in a virtual form. (Continued On Next Page) Pictured: Ai Amano
Not all young people become addicted to the allure of online relationships, but it is certainly a phenomenon worth looking into. Just like an imaginary friend in elementary school, an online boyfriend or girlfriend can be a comforting, albeit tragically hollow, tool to cope with the emptiness one can feel at this age. The ease of internet pornography also exacerbates this greatly, with many relying on that alone to fulfill their needs, sometimes ignoring or rejecting the hassle of actually getting to know a member of the opposite sex. But the real problem comes with just that, having to accept the imperfection of others, and learning to love and care for someone who will never live up to a perfect ideal created in a virtual environment. As Vice News has covered in their documentary “The Japanese Love Industry”, Japan is battling this very phenomenon. Japan has the highest negative population growth in the world, meaning that less babies are being born than people dying, and future projections have indicated that by the end of the century, Japan’s population may shrink by half. A government survey indicates that fifty-percent of Japanese women aged 18-34, and sixty-percent of Japanese men aged 18-34, are single. Many cite the fast paced, career oriented lifestyle, coupled with the ease and comfort of virtual surrogates, to be a big factor in this. It all boils down to the general idea that it is easier (and more cost effective) to have a virtual partner, than a real one. Whether it be a dating simulator, a video girlfriend, or a high tech sex toy, younger people embrace this technology as a replacement for human contact. A lack of communication skills, self-confidence, or time, can be fixed by a hyper-reality simulation that fits exactly to the ideal one might have of a lover or partner. Yota’s rejection and lack of confidence is addressed by Ai, who uses a lot of overtly sexual and romantic actions to help warm Yota up to the unpredictable, and often times scary world of dating and love. Yota, who is known for his bad luck with women, is very sensitive and unprepared for her advances and ideas. Throughout the show, he is continually shocked by the seemingly innocuous implications of a relationship, such as sleeping in the same bed as another person, hearing them talk, coming home to a nice dinner, receiving gifts, and even just walking around in a park, in a comfortable silence. Yota soon realizes how hollow a video girlfriend actually is, and that his idea of a real life girl is completely disconnected with reality. This realization is crucial to the story, and to the people of this generation. As a series that was first written before I was born, this anime, and it’s manga counterpart, ring true ever brightly in my own coming of age. We live in a virtual word, full of endless digital counterparts to real life things. As we move away from the physical realm, and into the realm of pure data, it’s easy to lose touch with the reality of each other, ourselves, and the world around us. The world is not here to please us in any way, but people are built to seek out love and happiness with themselves and others. It’s easy to forget, but other people do in fact exist, and they have needs and desires just like us. Building a “perfect” ideal, to which one measures everything to, will inevitably end in disappointment, sadness, and in some cases a total abandonment of reality itself. Video Girl Ai addresses these issues in an elegant, comedic, and wonderfully subtle fashion. The series has taken on a new meaning to me, and will hopefully help some people to realize how beautifully unpredictable life is, and how woefully unavoidable reality can truly be.
Video Girl Ai was written by Mazakazu Katsura, who’s works include: Dream Soldier Wingman (1984), Zetman (1989), Shadow Lady (1992) DNA² (1993) and I”s (1997) Video Girl Ai manga is available from Viz Comics, and the anime has been out of print for quite some time. You can find the full series on VHS online for cheap!
Above: Yota and Ai Right: Ai
THE ART OF JUNJI ITO
Many fans of horror and manga are familiar with Junji Ito’s art. It’s some of the most gritty and aesthetically mind-numbing comic art ever put to paper. The stark, black and white rendering of his stories have been posted and reposted online for quite some time now. Due to the sometimes untraceable sources of online images, specifically anime and manga related, I am compelled to shed some light on the master of pen and paper, Junji Ito. While horror manga has been around since the medium first began, and ghost/demon stories are a crucial part of Japanese folk-lore, there are some artists that have truly gone above and beyond, creating horrific works that challenge Western conceptions, and haunt readers. Following in the dark vein of earlier contributors (such as Kazuo Umezu, and the mighty Suehiro Maruo) Ito builds a lot of tension in his stories, and uses his art to portray an evil presence on every page. Many of Ito’s works deal with a horror that works in two ways, both explicit horror, and the personal horror of one’s futility. The three stories that have been the most widely received in America have been Uzumaki, Museum of Terror (also known as Tomie), and Gyo. These works were produced in the 1990’s, and were first brought stateside in the earliest years of the 2000s through Pulp Magazine, published by Viz. Ito’s works are as artfully raw as can be, while still maintaining the standard conventions of manga. With fine curvature and rough shadowing, every picture seems to glow with a
pale light, which sets a mood of despair the moment you open up a book. His best known work in the United States is Uzumaki, which features vignettes from a town plagued by a fatal obsession with spirals. The simple story incurs some impressively creative death scenes, and illustrates darkly the outer limits of human obsession. With his works, it’s almost hit or miss with availability. You can find copies of Uzumaki or Gyo in almost any larger bookstore that sells manga, but to track down the Dark Horse Comics release of Museum of Terror is next to impossible, despite it being published in the last 10 years. Volume 3 is particularly difficult to track down, and I myself have not found a copy for sale under $100. Having bought volumes 1 and 2 when they were first released, I eagerly awaited volume 3, only to find that many stores had discontinued distribution of the series. Other series of Ito, including the infamous Hellstar Remina, and his collections of short horror pieces, remain untranslated, and unlicensed in the United States. Many groups have worked to translate these volumes, but his relative obscurity in the wider world of manga have made the distribution of any of his other stories particularly challenging. Despite the difficulty of tracking down a majority of books by Junji Ito, I encourage all readers to seek him out. The stories themselves are diverse in subject matter, and shocking on their own, with the art a horrific supplement. Here are some of Ito’s most nightmarish pieces, and the books they originate from.
This page clockwise from top left: Tomie (1987) Ancestor (1998) Uzumaki (1998) Next page clockwise from top left: Hell O’ Dollies (1995) Black Paradox(2000) Frankenstein (1994) Gyo (2001)
SSTAGE ONE: PSYCHOANALYSIS AND EVANGELION The internet has made many of the sacred concepts in anime more accessible than one could have imagined even ten years ago. One anime that I have seen become a face of the disassociative youth internet culture in America is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Shared in image macros, and text posts, the existential turmoil in the series has been reblogged into an infinity to which much of the initial meaning feels erased, or reappropriated into irrelevance. I have discussed this series with many anime fans, and feel a dire need to elucidate some of the points that have been obscured by the out of context nature of personal blogging, in conjunction with a lack of access to the complete series for some. Neon Genesis Evangelion has been a highly controversial series since it first aired, and continues to be today. Creator Hideaki Anno has been both lauded and despised by many in the anime world, for providing a very unclear and ambiguous ending to the series. While ambiguity and metaphor have been hallmarks of story-telling since man first uttered sounds, Anno seemed to get targeted in a most peculiar way with this series. Studio Gainax, who produced Evangelion, are legends of animation. Since their work on Daicon III and IV, they have been held to the highest of standards in regards to story-telling, and animation quality. When Evangelion hit the airwaves in Japan in 1995, audiences were amazed by the beautiful art and character design, fast paced action, and multilayered narrative. The series’ production has been admitted to be rather hasty, leading some to believe that the inner turmoil of the characters in the show is a direct reflection of the psychological torture that Anno went through. As a result, this series remains shrouded in mystery, with an overwhelming pile of rubble for fans to pick through. As with anything, there are an endless number of ways to analyze and interpret this series, it’s ending, and it’s post-run offerings. While many theorize on actual story points and developments, it’s important to look at the themes that stick out like sore thumbs. These are references to Freudian Psychoanalysis, Biblical Apocrypha, and the Christian Messiah. These subjects all deal with the beginning and the end of the world. The binary of life and death is established as the cornerstone of Evangelion, and from here, we can begin our dissection. I could spend an eternity delving deeper into this series, but I want to focus on three main topics for this article. These being the representations of the Id, Super-ego, and Ego in Asuka, Rei and Shinji; separation anxiety; and the innate presence of the Death Drive and the Pleasure Principal. To start, we must first establish the roles and significance of the three Eva pilots in the context of explaining Psychodynamics. Asuka Langley, the loud, charismatic Eva pilot who usurps control in dire situations, is seen as both infantile, and over-confident. She can easily represent the construct of the Id. In Freudian Psychology, the Id controls the base instincts of the human mind. Referring to Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the Id systematically checks and controls the human desire to fulfill needs to insure survival. In a societal context, the Id can be viewed as a negative aspect, but it’s role and function in the proliferation of our species stands strong. Asuka’s brash attitude, impulsiveness and inflated self confidence are red flags of an Id-based personality. The Id is a foil to the Super-Ego, which is the fine-tuned, “civilized” decision-maker aspect that modern societies are built on. Learned characteristics of morality and restraint come into play, laying in stark contrast with the Id. Rei is a perfect personification of the Super-ego. With her cold, reserved, logical demeanor, she plays her role, and does so with a sense of Arjunistic (see Bhagavad Gita) duty to meet the needs of a greater power. Shinji, is the malformed representation of the Ego. The Ego plays the role of the mediator between the Id and the Super-Ego. Both Asuka and Rei have a hand in influencing Shinji. Working both subconsciously and overtly, Shinji considers both sides, but ultimately proves to be too weak in many situations, rendering him powerless. This ego weakness is a symbol that is relatable to most people. Freud’s work has led many to believe that people are weak, helpless, incomplete blobs of neuroses, struggling just to keep breathing. Some agree, and throughout the series, you see this sentiment expressed by Anno through the character development. One of the biggest concepts that Freudian psychology relies on is an innate relationship with parental figures. While there are many points to cover in that field alone, one of the most represented throughout the series is Seperation Anxiety. That is, separation from parental figures. While most anime include characters without a complete set of parents, Evangelion plays up both the separation (via trauma) and abandonment aspects.
All of the characters in Evangelion have some sort of broken relationship with their families, or sources of origin. The concept of separation anxiety is further expressed with the events of the Impacts. The First Impact, which was caused by a meteorite, occurred in pre-history. It created the moon, and helped shape the Earth as we know it. The Second Impact, which was an explosion that occurred right before the events of the show, was an apocalyptic event. Two billion people were killed as a direct result, and the global changes that resulted afterwards caused even more deaths. The Second Impact was caused by the rebirth of Adam, the first Angel (more on Angels and Adam in the next issue). The destruction of life affected nearly every character in the show. Shinji lost his mother, Gendo, Shinji’s father, lost his wife. Asuka’s mother, who was directly involved in the experiment that caused the Second Impact, committed suicide after realizing what she had done. Misato’s father was killed as well, protecting her from the devastation of the Impact. Everyone involved in NERV had direct emotional ties to the deaths, and their frustration and emotional trauma fueled their work. The extension of separation anxiety comes not only from a loss of family and friends, but a separation from the previously known world. All of the characters have moved from their previous locations, and are forced to work in a new environment, without their support systems in previous life. Shinji, who was essentially coerced into being an Eva pilot, expressed significant anxiety, leading him to immense self-doubt. While these issues are understandable, it’s important to keep them in mind while viewing the series, and analyzing the third concept I would like to cover, which is the Pleasure Principal, and the Death Drive. Freud theorized that the Pleasure Principal is a critical factor in the Id, which is the biological desire to seek pleasure to avoid pain. This is expressed by an instinctual desire for food, shelter, warmth, and sex. As we covered before, Asuka contains the most overt characteristics of the Id, and is a representation of this Pleasure Principal. While pleasure seeking is primarily physical, Shinji, who has no forward pleasure seeking drive, derives comfort from memories of the past. He constantly plays events over in his head, as a protective barrier to avoid his own inner turmoil and acknowledgment of the present. Rei on the other hand, has one of the most profound expressions of the Death Drive. The Death Drive is an innate instinct to die. It occurs in all living things, right down to the cellular level. Even cells experience apoptosis, an internally programmed death sequence. The Death Drive has been linked to a biological desire to maintain homeostasis in a given environment. While the Id expresses a desire to live and experience pleasure for survival, the Super-ego carries with it the logical notion that things must end for the world to carry on. Rei’s acceptance of death, and her own mortality, is a key facet to her personality. Her own self-concept is a strictly utilitarian one. She believes that her life is valued solely on her usefulness, and that if she were to die, she could be replaced by someone just like her to carry out her functions. Her views, in contrast with Asuka’s, influenced Shinji to both accept death, and acknowledge the pleasures of the present. His ambivalence to both resulted in the ultimate psychological break of the last four episodes. All of these pieces come together during the finale of the show. The last four episodes, which occur during the events of the Third Impact, are a discordant exorcism of all the characters respective demons. Each one is put on display, and their own stories unfold in a series of memories, symbols, and rapidly changing representations of the self. The last episode has been one of the most controversial, with Shinji ultimately realizing the emptiness of the self, and his purpose is revealed to be a product of environment, and experience. This relinquishment of the self is described both academically, and in the show, as Ego Death. The weakness of Shinji’s self concept leads to an evaporation of the soul, and he is shown as existing in a plane above the Earth, with everyone he knows standing around him. This Ego Death is an important part of Evangelion, and is the pinnacle of the Human Instrumentality Project. The HIP is the ultimate goal of SEELE, the organization which orchestrated the Second and Third Impacts, in an attempt to force humanity to evolve into a singular entity. This involves a disassociation with previous physical forms, to gather all of the psychic energy of the human race into one homogenous being. This being is known as Lilith, humanity’s final, true form. In the next Issue, I will discuss the Biblical Themes of Evangelion, and explain further the significance of the Angels, Adam, Lilith, and their relation to the universal creation story.
ソフビ lifestyle My Name Is James. I’m 24 Years Old, and I’m Here Today Because I’m An Addict. When I was about 5 years old, I was given a set of 6 inch Bandai Godzilla toys for my birthday. I absolutely loved and treasured those toys. I carried them with me to school, the playground, and even to the doctor’s office. I played with them every chance I had, reenacting scenes from my favorite Godzilla movies and making up wild new stories of monster destruction. Some of my fondest childhood memories are that of completely fucking ruining giant Lego cities with Rodan and Mothra. There was something about those toys that set them apart from others and made them my favorites. Maybe it was the feeling of them in my hands, or the weight and texture, or the smell of the vinyl and small details that made them special. From the moment I opened those packages, I was set down a path of addiction. I’m definitely partial to Japanese soft vinyl toys, or “Sofubi”. Fantastic, grotesque, colorful and fun; these toys were my first love and will always be the focus of my collecting efforts. I started out as a kid playing around with Godzilla and Ultraman sofubi toys, which eventually led me deeper into the kaiju wormhole. I didn’t realize at the time that this interest of mine was shared by so many others near and far, and how collecting toys would become a such part of my life in the future. From learning more about classic kaiju and designer toys, I’ve made connections with people as far away as China and Japan, and as close as my own backyard. A population of passionate artists, designers, collectors, painters, sculptors and other highly creative people make up this vast community that I’ve become familiar with. The designer toy is one of the coolest and most versatile forms of artistic expression in the world today. From the conceptualization of a toy, the sketching and roughing of the piece, the sculpting process, casting the toy in your chosen medium (vinyl, resin, etc.), and then laying on finishing touches, creating a toy is one of the most rewarding creative experiences I’ve come to know. The DIY ethic that has been such a huge part of my life is totally synonymous with this sick fixation, making it even more appropriate for me. For someone that came up on comic books, shitty monster movies, spray paint, and punk music, my toy obsession sinks perfectly into the soupy, bubbling, low-brow sludge inside my skull. I love seeing the toys that other people are making, and the newest pieces they bring to the table. I get inspired by other people’s work, and build momentum as everyone feeds off of each other’s creativity. I find myself constantly checking my news feed to find the latest photos that other collectors and toy makers are posting every day. There is a certain rush I feel when come home to a package sitting on the doorstep of my apartment, waiting for me the tear open with a new toy inside. There is a certain pride I take in supporting artists and adorning my shelves with their fucked-up yet charming and beautiful creations. On the other side of this bliss, there is that deep disappointment I feel when I miss out on gallery shows, workshops, or chances to grab a new limited release by my favorite toy makers. When I don’t get my fix, I don’t feel quite right. I get upset and beat myself up over it. Some people are addicted to drugs, alcohol, or gambling. As for me, I’m a self-professed fiend for toys, and the culture surrounding them. And I don’t want to change. More ソフビ LIFESTYLE from James in the next issue of Interdimensional Matter Transporter
Next issue
Neon Genesis Evangelion Part II – Messiah Complex and Christian Symbology
A History of Pokemon: 1990-1995
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