[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Saikano review part 1: series overview and warfare as portrayed in anime
Every now and then I stumble on a series that is so powerful, heart-rending and affecting that it feels akin to a hurricane sweeping through the inside of my head, leaving what’s left as a jumbled, traumatised mess for a considerable time afterwards. She: the Ultimate Weapon, a.k.a. Saikano, is one such show - its unflinching portrayal of ordinary lives and teenage romance shattered by the destruction of modern warfare is one of the most hard-hitting examples I’ve seen to date: I doubt anyone could watch this series in its entirety without feeling somehow emotionally drained yet deeply touched, unless of course the levels of teary angst are too much to handle.
That is to say, Saikano exhibits a monumental level of tragedy and frequent instances of characters crying their eyes out - if an Angst-ometer were available for this blog as a Wordpress plugin, it would hit the top of the scale. The sheer amount of death, destruction and loss inflicted on its pitiable cast of innocent people is quite overwhelming at points; I found it impossible to sit through more than three episodes or so at a time. This aspect of the show is probably quite off-putting for some because ‘entertainment value’ in the ordinary sense of the term is ill-fitting for a production that deals with such heavy and downbeat material. Otherwise, Saikano really is something else.
In fairness the characters have just cause for bursting into tears with such frequency. The high school romance genre has a reputation for melodrama but incidents such as friends and family dying without warning or good reason is considerably more convincing justification for a tearful breakdown than the usual reasons associated with break-ups and bad exam results. An ‘emo’ dorama it most certainly isn’t: all those tears are very genuine and very justified.
The central story that revolves around Shuji and Chise, two ordinary kids who are dealing with the usual first-love issues until Chise is drafted into the army as a top-secret weapon of mass destruction, is in some ways similar to the premise of Gunslinger Girl, which handled the idea excellently (in the first season at least…my mind isn’t made up on the second yet). Saikano also uses this concept of a cute and fragile young woman being transformed into something inhuman and destructive, and examining how it affects her life and those around her, but works on a much more far-reaching scale.
The series devotes a lot of time to examining how the unique situation affects an ordinary relationship between two otherwise ordinary people, not to mention exploring the true implications of the term total war in terms of how their families and friends are all affected by the conflict. All of the significant characters have their tales to tell, which are invariably tragic but are detailed experiences of true-to-life personalities facing otherwise unimaginable circumstances. Battle Royale is the only similar character study I know of that’s on the same level of helpless individuals versus an extreme and pitiless system; similarly Saikano’s worldview is slightly different from our own but the universal nature of the feelings and emotions means that viewers can still relate to the characters, and it’s also similar enough to real-life wartime scenarios be very frightening.
Interestingly and perhaps intentionally, the details regarding how Chise was chosen as her country’s last hope for survival, who she is fighting and why are not fully explained here; in a similar way to Grave of the Fireflies the details concerning the bigger picture are left out in favour of the plight of individuals. After all, who cares about an enemy you never really see when your loved ones are dying?
Chise’s situation lacks a clear explanation but the implications are clear enough: she is losing her humanity as she transforms into a machine that Japan is relying on for victory. The scenes in which ugly metallic wings sprout from her back, her limbs morph into guns and various types of lasers and rockets burst from her skin are frightening and incongruous - if it weren’t so chilling I’d have trouble with the necessary suspension of disbelief; not least because high school romance is an unlikely combination for the military and sci-fi genres to begin with.
As a matter of fact the transformations - which from the soldiers’ contrasting point of view are seen as a glowing figure in the sky that is protecting them like an angel of death on the battlefield - are not the show’s main problem in the art department. I’m not one for the Gonzo Hate bandwagon but Saikano is one series that suffers from its respective art style: perhaps to convey the human side of warfare unlike other sci-fi anime shows, Saikano is drawn in a simplistic and watercolour-tinged fashion, with the thematic emotion and characterisation relied upon to provide the grittiness and realism required.
The character designs are at particular odds with the subject matter - the entire cast look like they’re constantly blushing and Shuji is inexplicably drawn with greyish hair, which makes him look like a grumpy old man rather than a confused teenager. Many shows, from Fruits Basket to Lucky Star get away with making complex characters appear kawaii but in the case of Saikano the choice of ‘cutesy’ character designs that look like they’ve walked out of an ordinary teen romance in portraying some very harsh and grown-up issues takes some getting used to.
As is often the case, the animated medium can still ‘get away with’ certain things that live-action film cannot; in this case the physical metamorphosis from Chise the girl to Chise the one-(wo)man army might not give the same vibe in conventional film. I’m still interested to see how Saikano makes the transition from cel to live-action though, especially with the casting of Aki Maeda in the lead role (in truth, I’d give a Uwe Boll movie a viewing if she starred in it). The conclusion to the anime, which allegedly had a lot of thought put into it, still felt a little out-of-place so I’d also like to see how the live-action adaptation and, indeed the original manga, handled it.
Of course, Saikano was never going to be a light and fluffy affair with a happy ending for everyone; as well as wondering whether its tender emotion came from the director’s ‘woman’s touch’ (I’m only asking this because I can’t recall off the top of my head any other anime, romance-orientated or otherwise, that had a female in the director’s chair) I once again wonder why anime, and modern Japan in general, portrays warfare in film in the way it does.
Saikano never pulls its punches in showing how the lives of Chise, Shuji, Akemi and the rest are ruined by war; unlike most anime though, it never once glamorises the subject or tries to impress the viewer with the action and shiny mecha. It does however follow a quintessentially Japanese idea of going to great lengths to hammer home the anti-war sentiment more than Western film and TV seems to, and in addition uses the concept of global warfare that’s been relegated to the history books for over sixty years now. Is Japan, one of the most pacifist contemporary cultures from a political and military standpoint, really still coming to terms with the concept of that armed conflict and its after-effects? Is the spectre of total annihilation still such a powerful force in their popular culture? Or is it a product of the country’s pre-Twentieth Century feudal past that pre-dates a more modern anti-war ideology?
I’m often surprised at how anime is keen to portray visually impressive scenes in its movies that bear an eerie resemblance to nuclear explosions, render military gear and violent action with such attention to detail and yet, often in the same productions, highlight how destructive it all is on a human level. To my ignorant gaijin mind this is strange yet fascinating - Saikano is probably a less common case in which the spectacle and adrenaline rush of warfare in fiction is downplayed almost completely in favour of the true human costs of armed conflict but anime, especially in the action and sci-fi genres, is often (in)famous in the way it portrays violence on-screen. Saikano does of course also handle the dramatic and romantic side of things in a different way to most anime shows but I’ll post more on that in the next part.
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
This is a country where the people who remember WW2 remember it VERY clearly, and treat the subject very sombrely. Their war memorials have the same tone towards this–that of a grave mistake, and humanity’s need to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
Japan remembers its humiliation in WW2 VERY well; perhaps you might want to not phrase your question quite this way. After all, your country won the war.
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
The manga author, Shin Takahashi, said in his afterword in the manga that Saikano left him depressed for about two years. I believe it. It’s an amazing anime that I can’t bear to re-watch just yet. It honestly hurts, even though it’s really good.
The scariest thing in Saikano that depressed me the most was how little influence everyone had over the events. Most stories in books and TV follow characters that have influence over the future. However, here we have a story where even Chise, who is extremely powerful, is basically just one of many powerful things being thrown around. As she comments at one point, her presence as a weapon was not required - she was just a convenient way of doing what they could have done with other weapons. It’s a sobering and depressing thought that no matter what you do, it might not matter.
Posted on April 3rd, 2008 @ 2:01 am
Very nice post on Saikano, I’ve thought about doing one for a while but I don’t think I could take the sadness of watching the series again. I’ve shown this series twice for anime club’s that I’ve ran, and the reactions varied from viewer’s loving the show to many if not most of the college kids having to leave because they couldn’t “take it”. I also had a very similar reaction from the club’s viewers when I showed Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku Aka Now and Then, Here and there and Graveyard of Fireflies, I think that western anime viewers like their anime violence distant and righteous. Anime like Saikano and other anime like it show the effects of violence, death and destruction up close and in your face, and that makes a lot of western viewers uncomfortable. I spent 23 years in the US Army and have been in combat, and I feel that Saikano portrays the effects of warfare on civilians in a realistic nature, in Iraq depending on who’s figures you believe between 10 and 100 civilians have died from the effects of combat or the chaos that follows those military operations for every uniformed solider, every time a bomb, shell, or bullet misses it’s intended target it’s possible a perfectly innocent civilian or several civilians could be struck down while going about their everyday lives. I think that most western anime viewers and a lot of western people in general are shielded from the horrors of war (collateral damage) by their news media and governments. The power of Saikano comes from us the viewers feeling the utter horror and sense of uselessness that comes from the deaths of characters we have come to know and like.
Posted on April 3rd, 2008 @ 2:38 am
I loved this series.
Watch the OVA too! :3
Posted on April 3rd, 2008 @ 3:09 am
Good review.
Although, I’m largely torn on SaiKano. On the one hand, I think it does all of the things that you pointed out. It definitely portrays the effects of war in a way that is heart-wrenching. In fact, I actually think that the childish, pastel character designs highlight rather than detract from that distinction. One of my favorite things about the series is that fact that everything in the town “felt” normal but there was this undercurrent that something big and horrible was happening somewhere else. And it was lurking right on the edge of the consciousness of everyone. But they were forced or needed to (depending on which way you look at it) to keep on living.
In a lot of ways, it reminded me about my feelings on Iraq. Especially with movies like Stop-Loss coming out over here and the fact that they’re met with such a cool shoulder because people really don’t want to face what’s going on right now, they’d rather stay in their pastel world.
Which is probably why I’m torn on it. In general, I partake in fiction to escape reality, to see people do things that I can’t or won’t be able to do. So while I think Saikano is an experience, it’s a painful, heart-wrenching and emotionally draining experience. Because like one of the commenters said, no one is really able to do anything about the situation.
So I’m not sure if that says something about me. Or about the show.
Posted on April 3rd, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
@ai: the obvious fact that Japan is still aware of certain historical events and has produced some very serious allegoraries in anime (e.g. Saikano, Grave of the Fireflies, Barfoot Gen) makes it all the more interesting that the “wow, cool mecha and explosions!” aspect of the medium is so prevalent. But then, the latter could be the more well-advertised type because it’s more marketable abroad than the downbeat drama approach. In terms of ‘phrasing my question’ in the way I did, I’ll just assume you misunderstood my post. Who ‘wins’ a war in the eyes of history textbooks wasn’t my point - rather, I merely find the way in which Japanese popular culture views this sort of thing to be interesting.
@kdp: I found the same thing with Grave of the Fireflies - it’s a brilliant film but I still haven’t brought myself to rewatch it yet.
@Chris: I’ve heard good things about Now and Then, Here and There but I think it may have been one of those series ‘lost’ in the Geneon fiasco. I hope this isn’t the case because I’m quite interested in watching it. As for the violence I’ve never served in the military but Saikano’s approach really left an impression on me - it’s going back to that contrast with, say, Gundam and Appleseed, who have this jarring contrast between condemning the morality of waging war but at the same time making entertainment out of the action scenes. I think news coverage is desensitising us, but that’s a whole issue all of itself.
@korosora: the review for the OAV is coming up later. Promise! ^_^
@Cameron Probert: I can’t be sure on this until I’ve read it, but I suspect that the art style of the anime may be trying to replicate that of the manga, so that’s more the original author’s decision than the studio’s. Either way, I concede that it’s very effective at lulling the viewer into a false sense of security with all the carefree summer school days, before everything goes horribly wrong.
Posted on April 4th, 2008 @ 6:06 am
Was N&T, H&T released by Geneon in England? Cause it came out through Central Park out here in the US.
Posted on April 4th, 2008 @ 10:35 am
Props to you, Martin, for simply ignoring the obnoxiously political statements in the comments. In fact, when I watched Saikano years ago, I was seriously disturbed by the way war was presented in the anime. Going to fight in a war for a reason like protecting one’s own girlfriend is completely nonsense for me. (As if contributing to killing others would save your girlfriend, you’d better stay with her and watch over her.)
In my eyes, Saikano had both: It was glorifying war and showing its cruelties at the same time, and I seriously didn’t know what to think about the series. In addition, the morality of love was somewhat blurry and questionable too: Chise and Shuji were portrayed as a truly loving couple, but then, both of them engaged into an at least physical relationship with somebody else, even resulting in jealousy scenes.
However, Akemi’s death has had a huge impact on me, I think it is one of the most powerful scenes anime has ever produced, and considering these memorable merits, Saikano is still very high in my esteem. I am glad that people still talk about this series and lots have actually watched it.
There also is a really great AMV with Shiina Ringo - Love is blind, I can’t find it on Youtube though. -.- It really reflects the emotional impact Saikano has on the viewer.
Posted on April 4th, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
@Cameron Probert: as far as I know there isn’t a R2 version of N&T, H&T although the R1s still seem to be available. They might take a bit of tracking down but I think it’ll be worth my while.
@Sasa: I try to avoid political commentary wherever possible, although I admit I take it for granted that my lack of opinion in that subject and my pacifist views are obvious from my writing already. Misunderstandings are bound to happen I guess. As for the way the characterisation is handled, I was really impressed but like you had a lot of mixed feelings concerning the characters’ motives and decisions. Your points are noted though, and will hopefully be addressed in my second post on the series. Sadly I have a bit of writer’s block today so it’ll have to wait until tomorrow!
Posted on April 5th, 2008 @ 8:55 am
Tbh the only episode I liked was the first one. Mostly because it seemed rather down to earth, while the rest wanted me to take things that were just too ridiculous (Especially the end episodes).
I have to agree that the motives and actions of the main cast were rather convoluted through out the series, which hampered my attempts to connect to the characters. I think actually if that problem didn’t exist, I would have liked the series a lot better.
In summery, I would say this anime had quite a bit of potential, and in the beginning it did. But as the series went on it got worse and worse in terms of characters, story, and presentation.
Posted on April 17th, 2008 @ 1:55 am
Saikano, for me, was the most single handed, brutal, emotionally destroying media i have ever come across in my 24 years on this planet.
My mother dying almost pales in comparison.
After watching this series on dvd i was emotionally destroyed for 2 weeks!, yes 2 WEEKS! and at one point, i cried after replaying a few scenes in my mind.
As a fantastic Anime i would recommend it to anyone. On the other hand i would recommend it to no-one other than ex military hardened soldiers, whom even so i believe would be fighting back tears after this.