Divinity in anime

As an animation fan, I had never seriously thought what subject matter is animation (as opposed to novel, play, live-action film, manga etc) uniquely suited by its very nature to depict to the maximum effect. But ever since I watched Yuasa Maasaki's Mind Game, I think I have the answer - it is divinity.

In Mind Game, the image of God as it is perceived in the human eye changes shape every second or so. Even though He looks different every second, you just know that the Being standing before you is none other than God. Of course, encounters with divinity or God had been dealt with in other mediums of art, but Mind Game has the singularly most powerful encounter I have ever come across, and I do not think such representation of God would have been possible in any other medium of art. [EDIT: The reason is that one's conception of god/divinity is by definition something that springs from one's imagination. God/divinity is one of very few things in this world that people (or some of them) believe exists although they cannot see/have never seen it with their eyes. With live-action film, one can only film what is real and visible in this world, but with animation one can film what is imagined in one's head.]

Come to think of it, the other most creative vision of God or divinity I have ever come across also take the form of anime for some reason. The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (though the source material is a light novel series) is one such example. As I said in an earlier post:

In short, you have the story of a God whose omnipotence is crippled by that fact that she is not omniscient; a God who seeks to rebel against human conventions but willy-nilly accepts the status quo at the end, and in accepting the status quo earns unbeknownst to her the friendship of far-from-conventional individuals which she has always specifically willed for. It's one of these chicken-and-egg things where you cannot tell where does the truth ends and the lie begins. The caveat is that the moment she 'wakes', her friends (and the world, for that matter) would probably no longer be. There are many things I like about this series, but there a few things which I have not heard raised in blogosphere so far: How much of gaining what we desire in life depends on our ability to renounce it and resign to the exact opposite? How much of what we have in life depends on us not knowing that we have it? And that the moment it comes to our knowledge, it is lost forever?

Whenever I am pressed for a short answer as to why I like animation (and it is always too complicated to explain in a short answer to someone who is not an active animation aficionado), I think I now know what to say.

So what about you guys? Is there a subject matter that you think animation is uniquely suited to depict to the maximum effect? Please do not hesitate to let me know.

Comments

[minus-one]

I think you misinterpret director's omnipresence in animation for god... I mean - in contrast to films where there's room for some randomness, in animation all is made by people - animators, director... all is controllable, and it's very hard to abstract away from continuous human presence behind every shot.

for me subject of art lays in domain of emotional perception, not rational. you can't figure out in words what is the subject matter anime best suited to depict, because there isn't any. anime deals with color and motion to convey some sentiment, to create some atmosphere; and it's something you can't put into the words (or else there would be no difference between science and art).

(but it's hard to explain ;-) )

[Wabi Sabi]

I am not sure what you mean by 'misinterpret director's omnipresence in animation for god' but perhaps I wasn't making myself clear:

What I am saying above is - god/divinity is a subject matter (just like romance, fate, nature, politics etc). There are many mediums through which to tackle this subject matter (such as literature, films, manga etc). You can write a novel about god/divinity, make a live-action film or whatever. My point is that animation in particular is a well-suited medium to depict god/divinity - perhaps precisely because (as you say) the artist has total control over the sounds, images and motions in animation, and can therefore present his/her vision of god/divinity in a powerful and effective way that cannot be achieved in literature, films, manga etc. In other words, animation is a medium through which one human being's (ie. the artist's) conception of god/divinity can be simulated in sounds, images and motion, and communicated to the viewer in an immediate and powerful way. One's conception of god/divinity is by definition something that springs from one's imagination. God/divinity is one of very few things in this world that people (or some of them) believe exists although they cannot see/have never seen it with their eyes. But if you do believe that God/divinity exists, it is only natural that you have imagined to yourself at some point what god/divinity must look like. With live-action film, one can only film what is real and visible in this world, but *with animation one can film what is imagined in one's head*. It is for this reason that I regard animation as unique in this respect.

Hope this clarifies.

[minus-one]

anime's good at conveying "omnipresence" aspect of god, because people feel some kind of constant presence "behind the scene" - so when it's dealing with god as its subject it's very convincing; but the thing is, that feeling of omnipresence comes not because animation's more suitable for depicting god, but because of its technical limitations (excessive controllability and lack of improvisation).

[Wabisabi]

I am not sure I follow: if 'excessive controllability and lack of improvisation' are the reasons why animation as a medium is effective and convincing when the subject matter depicted is divinity/god, then they should be perceived as advantages rather than 'limitations'.

And the example I give from 'Mind Game' is not really about 'omnipresence' or some 'constant presence behind the scene' per se - it is simply a wondrous and creative presentation of god that only animation as a medium can afford. There is no hint of God being omnipresent (ie. being at many places at once), only of God's wondrous multi-faceted existence in having so many faces from one second to the next. Nor does one feel the director breathing down one's neck (ie. 'behind the scene') - the narration is quite unobtrusive.

[minus-one]

i think concept of god has such an aspect as randomness, improvisation, something along the meaning of phrase “inscrutable are the ways of the Lord” (it’s very subtle but very important aspect).

and animation (as well as literature (as well as other “controllable” art)) fails to convey it (not always though). their gods are all titans (forces of nature) or some other special effects with special powers. at best they are animals (like in Spice and Wolf) or someone’s psychological problems (like in Lain).

as much as I like art-style of Yuasa Maasaki in Kemonozume or Mind Game, overall it’s pretty much average works that have not so much to say (nothing?)… they’re just empty (i couldn’t imagine someone would make it example of dealing with divinity in anime :-) ).

i can think only about one anime that deals with divinity more or less appropriately - it’s Mononoke Hime. (ok, two - Mushishi ^__^)...

[Wabisabi]

I think there is a case to be made for it in Mind Game - it does not deal with divinity exclusively, but when it does its depiction is unique. It also broadens out to our perception of human existence in this world - there is a long sequence of places and people changing as time goes by (ie. being renovated, growing up etc) in fast-forward mode (ie. one decade in 'real time' is packed into one second on screen), and it echoes very nicely with the sequence of God's changing face every second 'up in heaven'. For all we know, this human world may well be yet another changing face of God.

Mushishi is definitely one heck of an anime that deals with divinity wonderfully.