“Nevertheless, Although The Way The Bathhouse Is Staged Recalls A Megalopolis, Miyazaki Did Not Choose

“Nevertheless, although the way the Bathhouse is staged recalls a megalopolis, Miyazaki did not choose to show it from a futuristic angle, in contrast to Tezuka Osamu. The references are more ninetheenth and early twentieth century: the forge, the apothecary’s cabinets, the tatami room, the tasuki sashes, the old-fashioned elevators, the curtains and wall hangings in the old woman’s apartments, as well as her hairstyle, and so on. It is the world of bourgeois order. The old woman’s face, her Victorian bun, and the way her rooms are decorated all suggest it - at the very top of this closed and vertical universe lives an Anglo-Saxon-looking witch. However, neither the Japanese people nor Japanese culture (starting with the public-bath tradition) are entirely remote from this world. In fact, they are completely taken with it and are confirmed stakeholders in it; one of the more obvious reminders of this is that the outside of the Bathhouse clearly brings Sino-Japanese architecture to mind. But it is not an ancient architecture recalling a specific style. It is a hybrid building, almost a pastiche; it is made not of wood but of conrete painted and decorated in the 1930s style known as Imperal Crown, like the Tokyo National Museum. Miyazaki thus evokes the Rokumeikan palace, built in 1883 by the Japanese government to welcome Westerners, and the salons of Gajoen and Meguro, popular spots for bourgeois weddings.”

“[…] Even though allusions to the West are the most pronounced, it is interesting to note that there are also references to Buddhism, a religion that in Japan is consistently described as a foreign creed. There are at least three allusions to Buddhism, each of which could plausibly be accidental but collectively leave no room for doubt of their working together. The first is in the name borne by the witch’s son, Bôh, a word often used in Japanese to mean just “boy” or “kid” but that primarily means “monk”. The second occurs in a quick scene that takes place on the banquet level, where we see a small sign that says “Pure Land” (Jôdô). And finally, the big mole on the witch’s face is placed where one might usually find the “third eye” in Buddhist iconography. Buddhism is thus clearly associated with the upper spheres of society, with power and money. Beyond socio-historical criticism, however, the allusion to Buddhism indicates that the vertical world is first and foremost one of eschatological promises.”

“The possibility of reaching the world of horizontality is granted to Chihiro thanks to her resistance to the laws of verticality - she never espouses the system of mimetic desire. Not only does she refuse the gold that Kaonashi offers her, but she refuses to give in to her new friends’ desire for wealth. Her attachment to people, beginning with her parents, is sincere and unwavering. She does not, however, have just one thing in mind (restoring her parents to human form, for example), which would amount to a form of fantasy. She handles situations in real time, based on circumstances, and solves problems as and when they occur. This is why she gives the antidote that could have saved her parents to Haku and Kaonashi, who need it immediately. She also avoids being reduced to the object of other people’s desire while still remaining sympathetic and compassionate, as we see from her relationship with Kaonashi.”

“In short, Chihiro is driven by the power of her heart, which also dictates her moral sense. She is quite willing to imitate the way poeple look or act (she has no problem dressing like a servant and does her best to wash the floor like a practiced hand), but she does not adopt their aspirations. She can therefore have genuine relationships with people. She forges strong and lasting bonds, as symbolized by the tasuki - the white sleeve ties that she wears in the film’s poster. Miyazaki thus contrasts the fake depth of the Bathhouse, which is of Western origin (but into which modern Japanese culture has been completely absorbed) and which keeps individuals in a state of severe and ridiculous anxiety vis-à-vis death, with the real expanse, the real depth, which is an awareness of the bonds that link people to one another under any set of circumstance and in real time, and that link mankind to nature.”

Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts; from Kishida Ryūsei to Miyazaki Hayao, Michael Lucken, 2016.

Go for the kanzashi!

Here you go @dreaming-of-the-midnight-sun

I can’t stop imagining him being such sweetheart. ♥

I’ll think another with Inukimi for later.

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5rzefona

6 years ago

The Types as Character Tropes

Based on stereotypes, duh.

INTP: Absent-Minded Professor, Erudite Stoner, Gadgeteer Genius, Reluctant Mad Scientist, This Is Your Brain On Evil

INFP: The Anti-Nihilist, Byronic Hero, Because You Were Nice to Me, The Dark Side Will Make You Forget, Not-So-Harmless Villain

ISTJ: The Reliable One, Unfazed Everyman, Cloudcuckoolander’s Minder, Loyal to the Position, Obstructive Bureaucrat

ISFJ: Yamato Nadeshiko, Humble Hero, Tranquil Fury, Churchgoing Villain, Love Makes You Evil

ENFJ: The Paragon, The Chooser of the One, Warrior Therapist, Soap Box Sadie, Psycho Psychologist

ENTJ: The Leader, Cultured Badass, Seme, The Corrupter, Visionary Villain

ESTP: Determinator, Ace Pilot, Da Editor, Blood Knight, Corrupt Bureaucrat

ESFP: Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot, Plucky Office Girl, Obfuscating Stupidity, Hidden Depths, The Ophelia

INTJ: The Spock, Tin Man, Aloof Big Brother, The Chessmaster, Evilutionary Biologist

INFJ: Hurting Hero, Hermit Guru, Zen Survivor, Living Emotional Crutch, Knight Templar

ISTP: Warrior Poet, Street Samurai, The Hunter, Because I’m Good At It, Then Let Me Be Evil

ISFP: All-Loving Hero, Hero’s Muse, Determined Defeatist, Granola Girl, Mad Artist

ESTJ: The Captain, The Ace, Nerves of Steel, Corrupt Corporate Executive, Egomaniac Hunter

ESFJ: Crusading Lawyer, The Social Expert, A Father to his Men, Nerd Nanny, Evil Matriarch

ENTP: Bunny-Ears Lawyer, Trickster Mentor, Knowledge Broker, Cool Loser, It Amused Me

ENFP: The Pollyanna, Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Allergic to Routine, The Wonka, Revenge Before Reason

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5rzefona

6 years ago

I miss them…

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5rzefona

5 years ago

This Mens Button Down Shirt That Carrie Wore As A Dress Right After She Fell In The Duck Pond With Big

This mens button down shirt that Carrie wore as a dress right after she fell in the duck pond with Big was so effortlessly sexy

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5rzefona

5 years ago

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5rzefona

6 years ago

Female Character: *Everybody is immediately drawn to her for no discernible reason*

Female Character: *Extremely powerful compared to all of the other characters within the story; there’s no reason as to how she became so powerful*

Female Character: *For some reason is able to quickly pick up new skills in a period of time comparable to a genius; no explanation for this too.*

Female Character: *has virtually no weaknesses except she’s clumsy teehee :)*

Person: Isn’t this kind of a mary-sue?

Tumblr: why do misogynists like to invalidate strong female characters???????????

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5rzefona

6 years ago

Back on my bullshit.

Rewatching parts of YOI for fanfic inspo and noticed this very brief expression of shock Victor shows right when Yuuri leans his forehead intimately against Victor’s before the short program in episode 6.

Love the contrast between Yuuri’s determined, assertive face and Victor’s astounded blush. It drives me nuts when I read fics where Victor is the only forward one in the relationship. It takes a bit for Yuuri to get revved up, but once he is, he gets Victor (and honestly everyone else in the room) to quake in his very expensive shoes.

In other words, he shook.

We all shook.

But in a good way.

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5rzefona

6 years ago

Some of you are saying that the citizens of Hasetsu probably think Viktor is just Yuuri’s eccentric foreign boyfriend and I cannot say how much I agree.

“What a nice young man,” says Tamura-san, who used to run the fish shop in town and now usually sits beside the register and chats with customers while her grandson rings them up. She was born before ice skating was declared an Olympic sport and has absolutely no idea who Viktor Nikiforov is.

“Yes, we’re very glad to have Vicchan staying with us!” Hiroko says of Viktor, who’s standing behind her cradling fifteen pounds of tuna and smiling brightly at Tamura-san.

“How good of you to follow Yuu-chan home after he graduated!” Tamura-san continues, about ten decibels louder than she needs to. Tamura-san is about 87% deaf in her old age, but nobody has the heart to tell her so. “You must love him very much!”

Viktor, who has no idea what she’s just said to him but who heard Yuuri’s name, just blindly says, “Oh yes!” and grins even brighter.

“Have you seen Viktor Nikiforov?” demands a rabid paparazzo of some poor fisherman just trying to do his job.

“Who?” asks the fisherman, frowning at the lens of the camera.

“He’s tall? Foreign? Silver hair?”

“You mean Katsuki-kun’s boyfriend?” says the fisherman. Katsuki-kun’s boyfriend had run by ten minutes before with his poodle in tow, European synth pop blasting so loud from his headphones that it could be heard for a full minute both before and after he ran past. The fisherman doesn’t exactly know where Katsuki-kun found that guy, but he looks at Katsuki-kun like he hung the stars, so the fisherman can’t blame him.

In the end, he tells the paparazzo to go the opposite direction of the one he just saw Katsuki-kun’s boyfriend go.

A girl from Hasetsu graduates high school the summer Yuuri returns from America and is inspired by his experiences to go to college in America as well. She arrives in her freshman year dorm room and is greeted by a poster of Viktor Nikiforov hung up by her roommate.

“Why do you have a picture of Viktor?” she asks, bewildered. Viktor is wearing a pair of black slacks and a bright pink shirt unbuttoned almost to his navel.

“Oh, you know who Viktor Nikiforov is?” her roommate asks, excitedly.

“Do YOU?” the girl asks, incredulous. Viktor is known to her as “That foreign guy that followed Yuuri back from America when he came home” and also as Viktor-Who-Puts-Jam-In-His-Tea-Like-Who-Even-Does-That. Certainly not as Viktor Nikiforov, Five-Time World Figure Skating Champion and definitely not as Viktor-Who-Deserves-To-Be-On-Someone’s-Wall.

Come October, Viktor has started introducing HIMSELF to people as Viktor I’m Yuuri’s Boyfriend. While half of Russia reads articles about Figure Skating’s Living Legend, a sleepy town in Japan wakes up every morning to Yuuri’s Boyfriend Viktor wheeling through town on his bike with Yuuri and Their Cute Dog.

Viktor loves Hasetsu.

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5rzefona

4 years ago

Credits to @lovingtaeonmain on Twitter