Manga/Anime Memorandum

random thoughts on manga and anime

MAMORU OSHII book review [nonfiction] Part 10, MY DEAR, MAMORU OSHII

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There are several Mamoru Oshii book lists on the Internet, but they do not provide detailed descriptions of the contents. My collection of Mamoru Oshii books is not yet complete, but I would like to write a short summary for each of those books.

I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or incorrect information.

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title: 前略、押井守様。

(MY DEAR, MAMORU OSHII)

release date: 07/28/1998

publisher: Footwork Shuppan

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[contents]

introduction

"My Dear, Mamoru Oshii: the story of <YOU> and <ME>" by Makoto Noda

interview with Hiroaki Jinno

"Invitation To The Apocalypse" by Jun Kasabe

"What You Can See/ Cannot See" by Tadashi Ihoroi

interview with Tatsunoko Elite 4: Koichi Mashimo, Mizuho Nishikubo, and Hidehito Ueda

interview with Mamoru Oshii: analysis of his early filmography

home video list of Mamoru Oshii's works

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[review]

This is a collection of critical essays. PERSONA is a very good database book for Mamoru Oshii fans, but it lacks good essays. In this book, Makoto Noda, a film director and hardcore Mamoru Oshii fan, writes an in-depth analysis of Oshii's works. A critic called Tsunehiro Uno said, "It is the definitive analysis of Mamoru Oshii." I agree with him. To be honest, analytical texts about Oshii in other books have the same problems: they tend to be far-fetched, vague, too technical, sociological, historical, or too short. Noda and the other critics in this book reach the "core" of our Mamoru Oshii experience to some extent.

 

Makoto Noda's Analysis
Noda says that the issue of reality and dreams is not so important in Oshii's works. Rather, he places importance on the outside of the world. He calls that theme <others>. Oshii's theme is the relationship between self and others. We all live without knowing the rules of the world. We know that water comes out of the faucet, but we don't really know how and why. Noda says that Oshii is constantly criticizing such ignorance. That is Oshii's "moral".


In Oshii's films, non-existent outsider-like beings often appear. The other ordinary characters cannot recognize the outsiders. Noda calls them <girls>. The "guest" in Talking Head and the girl in The Red Spectacles are examples.


Oshii also uses a different type of symbol, which Noda calls <directors>. In his manga series "IN THE END...", Oshii used a character literally called "director". The role of the "director" has been taken over by the director from Dragon Retriever, Bunmei Muroto from The Red Spectacles/ Panzer Cop/ Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai, and Yukihito Tsuge from P2. They take control of situations and reveal the hidden structure of the world. Unlike the girl symbols, however, those directors have motives and instincts. Even Eiichi Hoba suggests his own desires by showing the ruins of Tokyo.


Knowing that Oshii thematizes others/ the outside world/ the structure of the world, it is easy to understand why <birds> are dominant in his films. Noda says that birds are long-range guns aiming at the fictional microcosm from outside of the range.


The <phone> symbol is very important in such a context. The telephone is a tool for communicating with people at a distance. That symbol was used in Beautiful Dreamer, IN THE END..., and Mystery Case Files 538, Patlabor 2, The Red Spectacles, and many others. The directors show the outside world and try to wake up the ignorant characters from their dreams. It's like a phone call that tells the unwelcome truth.

 

 

Tadashi Ihoroi's Analysis
Ihoroi analyzes Oshii's theme by using the term "two kinds of morality".


The directors moral is called "moral α". The other moral is called "moral β". Moral β is based on distance. Adequate distance is necessary for healthy communication. However, moral α often destroys it with violence. Moral α nullifies distance with telephones or missiles. Oshii is well aware of the danger of the moral α. Such self-control is called moral β.

Ihoroi says that Hayao Miyazaki lacks moral β in both good and bad ways. Oshii once metaphorically said, "Ghibli is the Kremlin Palace." In Miyazaki's works, moral α is dominant, and the rest of the staff and the audience are compulsively influenced by it.

(The same theme can be seen in Oshii's criticism against Nausicaa. Oshii said that Nausicaa would be naturally isolated from the community after her reckless behavior.)


In Oshii's work, there are both hostility based on moral α and self-control based on moral β. The antinomy is symbolized by Tsuge and Goto from P2 or Hoba and Goto from P1. They are two sides of the same coin. When Miyazaki said, "I understand Hoba's hostility toward modern Tokyo, but I don't get Tsuge's motivation", Oshii answered, "There's no dialectic in P2." Oshii's reply makes perfect sense if you remember the fact that Goto and Tsuge couldn't beat each other. Hoba won in P1, but in P2, the battle/ the dialectic was incomplete.

 

 

Other Contents
Chapter 6 is an interview with the "Elite Four" of Tatsunoko. When Oshii joined Tatsunoko, there were three other newcomers in the directing department: Koichi Mashimo, Hidehito Ueda, and Mizuho Nishikubo. In this book, the three creators talk about their background and their works at Tatsunoko/ Anime Friend/ Pierro. It is not so relevant in terms of thematic analysis, but it shows a very "raw" side of Mamoru Oshii.

 

 

Mamoru Oshii's Early Career
The author conducted an interview with Oshii to analyze his early career. The earlier database books such as "Roman Album PERSONA" did not provide enough information about Oshii's early Tatsunoko works. Therefore, he showed staff lists and videos to Oshii himself to verify the information. In this chapter, we can see how Oshii developed his skills in his early career.