Bleach Philosophy Corner

You (the internet) loved my case study on Ulquiorra (an avoidant psychopath with a heart of gold and a penchence for brain washing) the most popular bad guy of the Aizen saga. So I'm going to keep blogging about Bleach, this time about philosophy and maybe psychology too. Chansu, this is not selling out it's good blogging...

So Ichigo's friend Ishida got shanked by a mysterious bad guy with enormous power. And Ichigo, he's weaker than a wet tissue. It seems like everyone else in the show downgraded Ichigo, like our economy got downgraded by S&P. However, in this case they downgraded Ichigo to something like C. Orihime now feels it's ok to make a move on him (or fail to make a move on him), because he's pathetic.

What kind of hero is Tite Kubo making Ichigo out to be in this arc?

He's Kubo's experiment in the underdog archetype. Kubo went for this vibe during the Soul Society arc and that's why we like Bleach. But for real, in this arc Ichigo experiences being a well endowed person but with no real power at all. A lot like you and me. Ok Chansu, not like you or Luffy but this is about Ichigo and Bleach.

He might as well said "Let's walk away so my now-crappy-son doesn't hear us talking about bad things"

Ichigo for the first time in the series experiences the human dilemma. That we might not be strong enough, that our friends will downgrade us, that our parents and mentors will walk away mysteriously, that strange men will ambush our friends, that the girls that like us don't talk about that stalker guy (Orihime...), that our weaker friends will come to the foreground to flaunt their strength (CHAD...), and the list continues. Ichigo is facing the best human dilemma that shounen anime can offer. And it's the best because it offered too much for a shounen anime. Ichigo is practically that person everyone pretends to be nice to because you don't want to hurt his feelings.

But Ichigo is a shounen hero after all. He is an example of what we should do. Keep trying and keep trying again. Trust strange men... Well not that last part. We should keep trying even when we don't know if we can make it. He never lashed out at his friends for downgrading him, he just kinda stayed chill. We can assume that Kubo instilled such a "theory of mind" to Bleach, I hope. I like to believe Ichigo knows he's been downgraded worse than the S&P though Kubo didn't make this crystal clear (he's got to at least try to tell a story by showing and not by spoonfeeding everything to you).

Ichigo kept trying... Why can't we? Resilience is key...

Never use a calling card given to you by a stranger... Unless you're a shounen hero...

Ichigo's Youthful Crisis!

Ichigo Kurosaki

 What made Ichigo become Karakura town's Hero?

Ichigo Kurosaki, when his story began, was a 15 year old guy who could see ghosts and the spirits of the dearly departed. Already, he has above average capabilities. The average person would go crazy if they could see ghosts. Ichigo is no stranger to death, as a young child he had seen a monster called a hollow murder his mother. Ichigo knew from then on which apparitions were benevolent and which ones, if any like the one he'd seen before, were malevolent. 

Ichigo comforting the ghost of a little girl

Ichigo's family all had the capacity to see ghosts however his father kept most of his capacities from Ichigo. Ichigo grew up familiar to the world of the spirits. But there are some things we can tell about Ichigo as a person. Ichigo is a kind-hearted person. Ichigo is a confrontational person, he even fights his own father. Ichigo is a serious person, unlike other heroes of animation, Ichigo doesn't eat more than he's worth or crack jokes. This is somewhat what one would expect from someone who can see ghosts.

Ichigo having after school sparring with his father

Ichigo is not a normal 15 year old. But I would disagree. Ichigo has a tangled relationship with two girls. One girl, Rukia Kuchiki, almost kicked Ichigo's butt and then later he saves her from execution. The other girl, Orihime, was kidnapped and later rescued by Ichigo. Ichigo had to fight very strong men for the sake of these girls. I would hypothesize that he likes one of them if not both of them. Ask yourself, would Ichigo rescue Ishida if he was kidnapped by Aizen? 

Rukia, trying to get Ichigo to talk about his mother

Orihime and Aizen

This brings me to my conclusion. Ichigo is a young man with a mother complex. He is irresistably attracted to saving helpless young women from being taken from strange men. First Rukia, by her brother, the captains, and Aizen. Then Orihime, from Ulquiorra and Aizen. Ichigo wants to be a protector of people, of Karakura town, not the best fighter there ever was. Not once has Ichigo said he wanted to be the strongest Soul Reaper in the soul society, not once. Wanting to be the best is something related to a man complex or father complex. 

Ichigo versus Grimmjow on the defensive

One of Ichigo's signature fights, against Grimmjow shows his personality clearly. The first battle with Grimmjow, Ichigo thought he would win but was defeated tragically. After that fight Ichigo went into a depression. Put a person with a man complex in that situation and you'll see that he'll want to become stronger at any cost to defeat the opponent, not Ichigo though. Ichigo went into failed protector mode and mulled about how he's not in any shape to protect the people around him. At one point he woke up and hit his mattress with his fist in a pseudo anger that gave way to depression. Ichigo later won the fight, but ONLY because Orihime was there to say "Don't die Ichigo!". Unconsciously Ichigo compared Orihime to his mother and the words "Don't die Ichigo!" became a ultimatum to avoid death at all costs. If it were Chad up on that pillar screaming "Don't die Ichigo", I doubt Ichigo would have won the fight without mortal injury. Later during his fight with Ulquiorra, Orihime was crying over Ichigo which caused him to become a true hollow. Showing that Ichigo really couldn't let Orihime down.

Will Ichigo actually get with one of the girls that inspire him? Or will he be subject to seeing them as his mother forever????

If you like my "fan-nonfiction" let me know!

-RPGhero

Psychology of the Shounen Hero, Part 1

Shounen is a type of storytelling in Japan aimed at young males. Battle shouen is a subset of shounen where the main character is also a hero and battles the forces threatening his or her way of life.

The hero archetype has been defined by C. G. Jung as the constructs that personify the hero. While the hero archetype isn't restricted to "hero stories" alone and can also apply to dramas and comedies. But I've noticed themes in shounen stories that may be different from the original limits of defined hero and villian archetypes. It might be just because in America we are used to the Superman or Spiderman who is straightforward and to the point, in most cases.

The shounen hero sometimes makes sacrifices. This may or may not be the same as originally defined. For example, in Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki had to sacrifice his spiritual energy to defeat the arch-nemesis Aizen Sousuke. It's not clear if Ichigo's spiritual energy will make a comeback...




The shounen hero sometimes has an opposite character who's abilities are similar and different at the same time. For example, in Naruto Shippuuden, Naruto and Sasuke are rivals. Naruto's signature attack, the Rasengan, can only be done when he has his clones helping him stabilize the orb. That implies that he draws on the strength of his friends to fight. While Sasuke, his rival uses another signature energy attack where he grabs his opposite arm to bring out the energy. Which surely indicates self-reliance and may also indicate the pain, both physical and mental, of such an attack. Physcal pain being from the production of the electricity and mental pain from being alone. this theme may have also been portrayed at the beginning of the second Shippuuden movie where a lonely Sasuke fired a chidori electric blast into a waterfall while at the same time holding his head under the waterfall. I would take a guess that the creators wanted to portary Sasuke's bitterness at being lonely, and also showing a semblence to training.

 Right before Sasuke practically electrocuted himself :(

You shouldn't have ran away from your friends O.o Just jokes..

Shounen stories will often host a character who has an uncontrollable shadow side tied to the very bad guys they face. These shows include, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach, DragonballZ, and others. Usually one would think that the hero can control every aspect of themselves and that's usually the case at the end of the story or arc. The heroes often struggle with their shadow intensely througout the story and may even fight or make temporary sacrifices to it but only to control it in the end.



I told you! Reading can be fun! ^_^
Stay tuned for part 2!

Viewtiful Joe and Psychology??

What's the difference between Viewtiful Joe and Synchronicity?

Nada.

In fact Viewtiful Joe is the only show where Synchronicity doesn't go badly.

Joe is like the coolest hero around. Catch the anime on crunchyroll!

Ulquiorra -- A Case Study

Ulquiorra, a high ranking Espada member in the Bleach Universe.
Ulquiorra is also a highly skilled psychological manipulator.
If you aren't afraid of spoilers of the Ulquiorra arc then click below to view the case study.

»Read Case Study«

Ulquoirra was given the task of bringing Inoue Orihime back to Hueco Mundo by Aizen. However, Ulquiorra had two goals that made his task different from a regular kidnapping. He had to bring her back unharmed and he wanted to make her obey Aizen later.

To accomplish this Ulquiorra used expert psychological means. When talking to Orihime, Ulquiorra figured out that she thought she was the weakest link among the good guys. He used this to get her to agree to leave Karakura town. She thought that if she went with him that the good guys would be better off without the extra weight. Ulquiorra was skilled enough to learn this about her through only observation and conversation. He then used the way he framed the outcomes of her going to Hueco Mundo to convey that her life would be a good sacrifice for the people she was close to. If he had not convinced her this, she would have struggled and asked Ichigo for help. Which was also easy because that was when Ichigo lost to Grimjow a weaker opponent than Ulquiorra.

Next, Ulquiorra used actual psychology terms. Ulquiorra had to fool everyone in Karakura town, including Ichigo that Orihime ran away of her own free will. This is not easy but Ulquiorra is a psychological mastermind.

According to a theory called "Correspondent Inference"... Wait too many big words. Well this IS an anime case study. So I'll just say what he did. Ulquiorra made it so that Orihime's actions seemed like they were:
1) Freely Chosen
 Ulquiorra told Orihime to say goodbye to her friends, Ichigo being the best friend. Orihime went and said goodbye to Ichigo. So when they traced her trail they would find that she wanted to leave, and didn't struggle.
2) Not common/Not like Orihime's personality
 Orihime was just training beforehand and she was serious. But her quick run away from Karakura Town seemed wierd. Psychology states that actions like these make others think that the person decided of their own free will. Especially if number one is already in effect.
3) Not desirable
 Since Orihime ran away, at the very least the others would assume that if she did something that dumb of her own free will then she was not forced.

The most important fact is that Ulquiorra planned everything to make it look like she chose to leave on her own free will. That is what threw EVERYONE off. Even Orihime, because when a person starts to think they did it of their own free will then they will be more compliant. That's why she obeyed Aizen. That and Aizen's a powerful wierdo.

Moral of the story:
Don't trust that guy cosplaying as Ulquiorra with your kids?
Tite Kubo took a psychology class?

No, Ulquiorra is a psychological mastermind.
Which was important when we found out he had something like feelings later on...

Otaku Pop Psychology Synthesis!

 "You Are a Superhero, According to Psychology"

What if I said you are Naruto or Monkey D. Luffy?

If you didn't say, who? Then I'll tell you why!

Psychology tells us two things about when you watch anime. 

1) When you watch an anime your brain cells mimic and copy the characters on screen, it's almost like you fought Sasuke back then right?

Those cells are called mirror neurons, for those taking detailed notes. The extent to which your brain copies the characters depends on two things. One is how much you like and want to feel like that character. Two is how well the anime is made. Better anime that have better animation, that's truer to real life movements will make it easier for your brain to copy the character.

2) When you watch an anime you focus 100% on the anime and shut out all of the things that you usually think about... If you're an otaku, you agree!

Cognitive psychology studies have shown that people shut out all the things they usually think about and even if you know how the end of that show is going to play out, you'll still feel all the plot twists! This is because people are wired to be engaged in an activity and if you are just watching something on tv you are becoming engaged with the events IN the show, not your nosy parent nagging you about that chore you're putting off for anime.

Shh Focus on Flower!

So next time you watch Edward Elric pull a metal stake from his stomach you'll appreciate it!

Along with the next bad guy you take down!

Scientific References:

"Field Guide to the Die-Hard Fan" by Stephanie Booth. Psychology Today, February 2011.

"Instructional animations can be superior to statics when learning human motor skills" by A Wong, N Marcus, P Ayres, L Smith... Computers in Human Behavior, March 2009.

Otaku Helping Others: Part Seven!!!

Hello bloggers!
This is our seventh edition of "Otaku Helping Others"!

What is it about?

Gaining self knowledge from ANIME

Whoa Whoa RPGHero, How are you going to tell anyone how to do that??




Step 1)
It's very simple. All you need is anime and something to play anime with. Those are the tools.

Step 2)
Choose an anime that you think you'll like. The choice is a big part of this. When you decide to watch something, anything, you are sure that you want knowledge or self-knowledge in that area. Sometimes you may not even know what an anime is about but just the way the characters look or something about the trailer was interesting, that's all a part of the bigger work of art which is the anime.





Step 3)
Watch the anime. Some animes start slow and some delve right into the action, don't let that put you off. Don't take notes, because you're not in school.

Step 4)
Try to imagine. You are watching a cartoon so sometimes it's hard to imagine that it can have connections to the real world. Imagine you are living in that world or that you are the main character. Even try to imagine as if you were a side character, being a side character isn't so bad. Well maybe not being Chaotzu in Dragonball Z, if you think you're more like Goku...

Step 5) Awesomeness. That is all.

Step 6) Try to be more like your favorite anime character. Even though this world may bring you down, you can still try to be a great person, like the characters in an anime.

Step 7) Watch more anime.

http://coolotakureviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-be-better-person-by-tom.html

Check out this story of gaining self knowledge through DragonballZ