A while ago I wrote a tweet about a voice/personality in my head that had been obsessed with “explosions” in Japanese media (anime/manga) and how that relates to the history of Japan with the dropping of the atomic bomb in WW2.
The voice is also twisted in this way that it thinks most modern Japanese heroes in anime and manga are actually the villains and the villains are the true heroes, save perhaps the series “My Hero Academia” and maybe also “One Piece.”
But where does this come from? I would take it as far back to feudal Japan, and the often titled “Demon Lord” Oda Nobunaga.
It was his idea to “unify” Japan from a series of fiefdoms into a whole country under one banner.
To an American, this sounds like the right thing to do, but how did it affect the lives of the Japanese people at the time?
War and bloodshed.
So to go from living your life without worry of anyone else to soon seeing your friends and family murdered at the hands of warriors seeking riches and honor, it’s no wonder why that would be “bad.”
And the modern “hero” that wants to uphold that same unity, to prevent the “villain” from “doing whatever they want” like “the old days” it’s almost like a twist on what is good and what is bad.
I’m not saying this is right or wrong, what I’m saying is I’m tired of thinking about it.
I don’t need to be hallucinating and trying to ingest a heavy dose of Japanese reverse psychology, but if I hadn’t written this out I don’t know what I’d be thinking right now, on the day of our lord at 2:52 in the fucking morning.