Forum - View topicShintoism in Anime
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space clam
Posts: 636 |
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I've been given a research project to discuss a world religion contrasted against Christianity. I've chosen Shinotism, seeing as how I am quite familiar with it. I know we're trying to help Tony K. on his paper, but I was wondering if you guys could offer some good suggestions on where to find information on Shintoism (sans the library, kind of obvious) and how one might incorporate anime into said paper.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11313 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Well, since you're such a pal to help, let me try to return the favor.
Let's see... Well, I can't say I've seen a whole lot of anime that revolve around religion. Neon Genesis and Hellsing come to mind, but of course that's really based more on Christianity as mythology from a Japanese persepctive. How about discussing the different outlooks other religious groups might have on Christianity and vice-versa. As I said earlier, since anime originates from Japan, they can't really go the basis of making a series that brings out a "true" perception of a particular religion besides their own. If you notice the 2 titles I mentioned, you see stuff about God, Angels, and what have you. But since the Japanese may not be as well informed about those aspects, they use the argument that these elements were just to make a show "cooler." In contrast to that, I guess some American cartoons could entice a show with Shintoism, but not knowing anything about it, they too might just be using it to give a show or movie a "cooler" look. This is just a suggestion and I'm sorry if it's no good, as I'm not really a big religious person anyway. But if I come up with anything else, I'll be sure to post it. |
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Vigilante024
 Posts: 578 Location: back. but not really. |
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I believe it is Susan Napier's "Anime: from Akira to Princess Mononoke" that has a section on various religions and thier meanings in anime. I'll try to find my copy when I get home to make sure...
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DCRavenX
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isn't tenchi's home a shinto temple. I also believe he worked at a shinto shrine in tenchi in tokyo.
If memory serves me there were a couple of scenes in which the characters of Blue Seed prayed at different shrines. Come to think of it Momiji lived at a temple also. I believe that Kagome's home on inu-yasha was a temple as well |
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Vigilante024
Posts: 578 Location: back. but not really. |
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yes, Tenchi lived in a shinto temple...Grandfather was a Shinto priest. In Tenchi in Tokyo, Techi is training to be a priest Blue Seed focuses more on Shintoism though because its a part of the main story line... I don't think its really relevant to list all the anime shows that have Shinotism in it because a majority of anime has some aspect of it present. though if you are looking for series that have a strong reference to Shintoism, then I'd suggest looking into books about religion and anime, since they will be able to give you a list of various animes that they are drawing from. I know Napier references the anime she works from and Anime Explosion (a dictionary type book) will list various animes that they find such elements in. So if you look up shinto it will define it as well as tell you some animes that it can be found in. |
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Vigilante024
Posts: 578 Location: back. but not really. |
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it posted twice...grrr...
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Samurai CDZ
 Posts: 776 Location: Manhattan, KS |
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This link might be of use. It links to the Silent Mobius and Earth Girl Arjuna reviews on ANN, as well as having various other Shinto news.
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Neardawg1979
 Posts: 44 Location: West Chester, PA |
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Sorry I can't be much of a help, but there has to be a better place to research religion other than anime. Even if there are elements of a show that have religious rituals, whos to say that they acuratly depict aspects of Shinotism or if they're the creator's interruption of Shinotism. Just a thought.
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ShellBullet
 Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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Well yeah, that's where research comes in to find out how accurate the creaters depiction of shinto really is. That in itself could be a good topic starter. How well is Shinto/Christianity depicted on film? |
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space clam
Posts: 636 |
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Yeah, my first post was kind of uninformative, but I was at school, and wanted to get it off before I got busted. The reason it's contrasted against Christianity is because I go to a Christian school, so the paper works off the assumption that Christianity is right, therefore there is no need of persuasion in said paper. I had forgotten about Shintoism in Tenchi *hits self with baka hammer* I am looking for an example to demonstrate how Shinto permeates the Japanese culture, much like Christianity *used* to in America, and I thought anime might prove to be a good example. And a small oral presentation accompanies the paper, and a visual aid may be in order...
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I can't really think of a major example where it represents that but I suggest Blue Seed the most. The others I would suggest would be Sailor Moon and Inu Yasha.
I think that episode in Sailormoon where those girls get kidnapped near Rei's temple is somewhat of a good example with those fortune telling things an all. Oh, and it's kind of a funny suggestion, but if I was doing a project like that that compares religions, I'd grab Haunted Junction. It takes place in a ... haunted school, and the student council is made up of kids of a Catholic Priest, a Buddist Priest, and a Shinto Priest. I don't know why, but the scene where the Buddist kid goes to the Shinto temple, attempts to make a wish/pray there, and getting hit by the Shinto girl comes to mind over this. |
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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Hm, the only example that comes to mind at the moment beyond those already listed would have to be X; the character of Arashi is a priestess of the Ise Shrine. I think there may be other characters from Shinto temples, too, but I'm not fully certain. I know Sorata is from a Buddhist temple, and I think the shrine that Fuuma's father tended was Buddhist as well. I'm leaning towards Yuzuriha being from a Shinto shrine, and I'm completely unsure as to Subaru & Seishirou. All I know there is that their powers apprently lie in Onmyoujitsu or somesuch.
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Pat Payne
Posts: 45 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Another somewhat good one is Urusei Yatsura...it often touches on both Shinto and Buddhist legends (although with a typically skewed Rumiko Takahashi take on them).
Also (and I haven't seen it yet) there's a live-action film called Onmyoji, whose main character is a Shinto priest. But other than that, there are very few that center around Shinto as a religion itself that I've seen (there is one, profiled in last month's Newtype USA and starring Megumi Hayashibara, but I can't remember the title for the life of me  ).
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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FWIW, I've heard and read that there are few people in Japan who believe in Shintoism in any literal way anymore, and so religious observation is more a matter of cultural observation rather than spiritual faith (kinda like doing the Santa Claus thing after you stop believing in him.) There are many devout believers in Judeo-Christian religion in the USA (I live in Alabama, where devout belief is quite mainstream) but also many non-devout people who nonetheless are influenced by traditional western religion in ways large and small. Maybe the ways in which eastern and western cultures are shaped by religion even when people don't believe would be an interesting subject. |
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Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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Blue Seed, perchance? |
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