“Looking down with Malicious Intent”: How a Remark in Spice and Wolf Volume Six has Irked me

Those of you looking for an enjoyable light novel need look no further than Spice and Wolf by Isuna Hasekura.  The translation put out by Yen Press reads quite easily and still manages to have a lot of character.  In particular, one of anime’s most beloved characters, Holo, can be read in all her sly wisdom, cunning repartee, archaic usage, culinary enthusiasm, and love of liquor.  Besides Holo, the other characters, especially the protagonist, feel compelling.  I cannot but love how the medieval setting reminds one of the Baltic Crusades and how Hasekura attempts to create a merchant hero who adheres to the code of contract law.  (Very interesting and unusual.)  Also, the novels cover more adventures than the anime ever will.

However much fun these novels are, they never fail to needle me a little.  The tales are written from an atheist’s perspective, which varies from disdain to curiosity in regards to monotheism as practiced by the Church.  This Church is reminiscent of the medieval Catholic Church, but their theologies don’t square perfectly.  One of my favorite pot shots has to be Holo’s “The universe is too big for it to have been created by a single god.”  How limiting the word kami must be on the Japanese theological imagination!

Reflections on Mardock Scramble and The Problem of Evil

As I was watching Mardock Scramble, I thought to myself that Catholic ideas heavily influenced this show.  I wonder whether Tow Ubukata is Catholic himself or at least admires the Faith.  After all, he is known for writing Chevalier D’Eon, which contains many references to Catholic motifs, but it also takes on a cultish quality.  This leads me to believe that Ubukata admires features of the Faith without being part of it, but I don’t know for sure.

But, the Christian motifs of Mardock Scramble alongside the terrible evils committed in that show remind me of how atheists think that the Problem of Evil suffices to prove that God does not exist.  Believers must be living on cloud nine, happily removed from evil and suffering!  If only the Christians of modern nations instead lived in the violent regions of Africa where where the evils of cannibalism, rape, torture, murder, mutilation, etc. were common, then we should be forced to conclude that God was absent from the universe!

Yet, believers often experience more evils than most people, not less.  African Christians suffer the very evils I mentioned above.  Even if Christians choose a life of exclusion, as ascetics like St. Guthlac and St. Anthony of Egypt have done, then devil comes after them–at least, with greater frequency than those living in human society.  Then again, who can forget the example of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, who endured persecution from demons, unbelievers, skeptics, Church authorities, and even distrust from members of his own community!  Of course, we should also look to our greatest examples, Our Lord and Lady, whose perseverance through hardships and manifold evils earned them the titles of the Man of Sorrows and Our Lady of Sorrows respectively.  We cannot but know that the more one strives to be good and to attain the truest goods the more evil and darkness one experiences.  If one delights so perfectly in God so that all one’s works and loves must refer to God as their final end, then the very presence of God may be taken away from one–as famously happened to Mother Teresa.

You’d never suspect that such a happy person experienced much darkness.

The reason why God permits such pain often escapes us.  I can only suppose that God wishes His followers to be so free as to choose righteousness in the complete absence of reward.  At such times, the atheistic ridicule that Christians believe in a figment of their imaginations–an imaginary friend–particularly hurts.  To draw a comparison to Mardock Scramble, the person whom Rune Balot completely relies on is Oeufcoque (The name “Egg cock” is ridiculous in itself), a talking golden mouse which can transform into a variety of tools.  Her complete reliance upon Oeufcoque is reminiscent of the reliance that a Christian is supposed to place in God.  And I could imagine an atheist ridiculing a Christian’s faith in God as being similar to hoping in a talking golden mouse.  After all, do their arguments involving a flying spaghetti monster pose any less ridiculous a concept?

At some of the darkest points in these OVAs, I doubt that Balot feels Oeufcoque’s presence.  This is especially so in the thick of her fights and when she experiences the evil memories of the person who tried to kill her.  Yet, her love for Ouefcoque counts as a lifeline for her at such times.  Similarly, a Christian must count on Christ at the times when He seems absent and hell seems ever-present.  One must keep the memory of God alive through all kinds of troubles, remembering that when Jesus Christ felt the most darkness–His Passion and Death–he effected the salvation of the world.

In the same way, God also produces the most good in us and others when we act with God despite darkness.  So, the Christian’s solution to the Problem of Evil is by conquering evil through faith in the love of God and good works.  Keeping faith in difficult times and continuing to do the works Christ would have us do is more than enough proof of God’s victory over the devil and all evil.

Hidden Gems of Anime: Crest/Banner of the Stars series

At this moment, I’m watching Banner of the Stars II, which is the third part of one of anime’s most brilliant sci-fi series.  It used to be more popular, but so few young fans know about it that it merits resurrecting the title “Hidden Gems of Anime.”  This work began when Hiroyuki Morioka wrote the first novel of the Crest of the Stars series, which is told in three installments.  Morioka created quite a sensation with this series, consisting of three volumes for Crest of the Stars and four for Banner of the Stars.  He even introduced a new language for the Abh empire called Baronh, with which each season begins and the prologue is narrated.  (Being ignorant of this, I began to worry that I had suddenly lost my ability to understand Japanese when I started watching it!)  Some people have fallen for it to such an extent that they have learned this language, and the Japanese editions are written in both Baronh and Japanese–so one can even enjoy the novels that way!

Banner of the Stars II reminds me of what makes this series so fresh and enjoyable.  Each season starts slowly, and they never rush the pace.  One remarks on the abundant use of dialogue, the subjects of which range from mundane palaver to philosophical or cultural discussions to war room meetings.  These conversations are often drawn out and evolve to include a spectrum of topics.  Only the author’s great skill at conversation allows him to get away with it: these conversations always intrigue me.  One almost wishes that one could be locked in a room with them for several hours just listening.  No character lacks the wits for entertaining speech.  In Banner of the Stars II, the conversation which started as a negotiation between Jinto and the leaders on a certain planet concerning plans for evacuation morphing into one on whether Lafiel and Jinto were homosexual was particularly amusing.

The way the series delineates the high level of civilization and the curious cultural practices of the Abh are another highlight.  All the cultures are presented in a rather non-judgmental fashion.  Technophilia pervades Abh culture so much that they have developed a sixth sense (a kind of sonar which allows them to fly space ships better) and have all their children designed for them in laboratories.  They are all beautiful, tend toward being quite intelligent, and live for about 200 years.  (I like thinking of them as space elves.)  All are atheists and rule their dominion with great tolerance toward each planet’s practices.

The battles are intense, especially when they occur in “plane space,” a dimension which allows for swift intergalactic travel.  Overall, the ships fight as if fleets of submarines, which lends a uniqueness to these battles: the ships rely mostly on mines and missiles (which resemble torpedoes), and certain compartments need to be sealed off as battle damage occurs.  Also, the bridge tends to be dark and small–like a submarine’s conning tower.

The characters themselves rate high in likeability and diversity of character–another reason for the conversations being enjoyable.  Jinto and Lafiel have been rated as the best anime couple by the defunct and greatly missed Anime Insider magazine.  The battle-thirsty and coolheaded Beneej Spoor, who suffers from long bouts of ennui, also makes for one of my favorite characters.

Well, dear readers, those are the highlights for this series.  I enjoy watching it in both English and Japanese, though the sub is superior.  Hope this article has piqued your interest!  Any other sci-fi series which you find enjoyable?