KONSHUU vol. 58 #3
Mystery
Kusuriuri Mononoke Art By Cas Geiger
KONSHUU | Volume 58, Issue 3
THIS ISSUE’S FEATURED SERIES! ANIME RECOMMENDATION BY WAI KWAN WU
Penguindrum Twin brothers Kanba and Shouma must toe between the strings of fate when they are offered a chance to save their terminally ill younger sister, but in doing so, they discover the hidden threads that tie them all together. A wildly vibrant and creative piece, Penguindrum uses delightful imagery to deliver its comedy and themes in spades, leaving viewers wondering, "What did I just watch?" at the end of each episode.
Summer 2011, Brain's Base Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara 24 episodes
ANIME RECOMMENDATION BY WAI KWAN WU
Shadows House
Spring 2021, CloverWorks Directed by Kazuki Ohashi 12 episodes
Young lady Kate and her living doll Emilico are but one pair of the many faceless nobles and their doll servants that reside within the Shadows House, but when things start to go amiss, it is up to Kate and Emilico to unearth the truth behind the enigmatic mansion. Shadows House blends together the mundanity of daily life with an uneasy atmosphere, keeping one enthralled as it gradually peels back the many layers behind its mysterious setting.
KONSHUU | Volume 58, Issue 3
THE 2 ₵ENT ₵ ₵ORNER ORNER Do you have a favorite "mystery reveal" moment? If so, what?
What makes for a good mystery, in your opinion?
To me, a good mystery consists of a sizable amount of information that leaves readers curious, quick-paced action that keeps the cat-and-mouse action interesting, and a satisfying reveal that can be clearly traced back from the beginning. Bonus points if there's a twist that perfectly fits into the structure of the story.
I think a good mystery should be based on a simple question, but should have less-obvious answers that reward the audience if they've been paying attention.
Devon Nguyen Writer
Rahm Jethani Editor-in-chief
A good mystery, in my opinion, is characterized by elements to challenge and engage the reader’s intellect and emotions, captivate the reader’s imagination, and keep them engaged throughout the story. What makes a good mystery creates a world that resonates with the reader, making them eager to solve the mystery.
Angelina Takada Writer
I feel like I don't watch/read a lot of mystery, but I like when you can't guess who did the crime, but it makes sense at the reveal.
That’s easily the moment in Devilman Crybaby when Ryo reveals himself to be Satan to Akira. I was rethinking everything that I had watched prior after that moment and it took me a good minute to gather myself before finishing the rest of the episode.
I really like the reveal of the main characters' motivation/backstory in Zankyou no Terror. The reveal works super well because their actions are already shown to play into their past, making the recontextualization very effective at establishing sympathy (akin to "V for Vendetta").
I don't have a “mystery reveal” moment. However, I can mention anime with “mystery reveal” moments! Oshi no Ko has intricate mysteries and layers to the story as the anime progresses. It features Goro, an ob/gyn, and depicts the mystery surrounding a secret held by a pop idol Ai.
I'm not sure how much it counts, but I really liked the big reveal in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright! Ellya Kim Artist
KONSHUU | Volume 58, Issue 3
OF PERSPECTIVE AND HUMANITY AND KYOUSOUGIGA WAI KWAN WU
Managing Editor
3rd Year, Molecular Cell Biology
This show has my favorite storyboarding in all of anime.
SPOILERS FOR KYOUSOUGIGA Kyousougiga is quite a bit of a mystery. Not necessarily by the traditional genre definition, but because of its characters. They're human, they're kids, and they interact with the world around them. But there is an intriguing aura around each character, something beneath the surface of each of their presentations. Fundamentally, they're abandoned people who crave love. But that's not the only thing to unpack about either Kyousougiga or its characters. Some time long ago, a monk eloped with his rabbit wife and three kids to a world that he created: a mirror-Kyoto where everything that is broken becomes fixed. Until one day, the parents decide they've had enough and leave without a trace. The three kids—Yakushimaru, Kurama, and Yase—are left behind, without a purpose. This sets the stage to two prominent mysteries. One, just where did their parents disappear to, and two, what are they supposed to do now? It is in their grappling of these two questions that gives rise to some of the most emotionally resonant perspective storytelling in Kyousougiga.
What Kyousougiga particularly gets right in its portrayal of its characters is the manner through which we learn about them: initially, they come off as more of larger-than-life caricatures than actual humans, but as the show digs deeper into each character's point-of-view, you start to get a sense of what ticks for each character and why they act the way they do. Through the lens of the show's overarching mysteries, the characters are always examined in relation to someone else, which greatly contextualizes each character in the light of what they each find important. Yakushimaru was given a second chance at life after being adopted by his parents, but a role as the new monk after his father disappeared was never something that he was equipped to
handle. Kurama wished to explore the world, but was trapped by his father's empty promises. Yase latches onto her childhood keepsakes as a way to cope with the loss of her mother. Rather than a raw display of emotions, Kyousougiga portrays their feelings as something more transcendent. A sense of longing that is difficult to put into words. But it is because of the difficulty of describing these emotions that makes them hit so hard. The protagonist of the series, Koto, is also something of a mystery herself, being a carefree outsider that doesn't share the emotional baggage of the siblings. This carefree attitude makes it so that Koto becomes a fascinating character to follow around, as much of her thoughts are hidden behind her swagger. In episode 2, we follow younger Koto as she wanders around the house in which she lives with her teacher. Very little dialogue is used here, but Koto's intriguing personality leaves us hooked onto her little escapade as we wonder what she is up to. This is further enhanced by the visual cues that are laden throughout the episode, and the viewer is tasked with deciphering both what is shown on the screen and Koto's specific actions. In this, Koto differs from the other characters as there is a much more restrained look into her perspective, and she even spends quite a bit of the show acting as a pointof-view character to learn more about the siblings, but not herself. Yet, her portrayal remains equally engaging to the audience.
It is impossible to discuss Kyousougiga without a quick note on its visual production. Rie Matsumoto's exemplary use of imagery and storyboarding to further the emotional impact of each scene never becomes less impressive, and it works extremely well to enhance the portrayal of each character. Some of the characters, like Yase, can have particularly straightforward tellings of their stories, but the boarding does wonders to highlight their emotional states and relations to other characters, so there always ends up being a certain air of mystery surrounding each character that is left for the audience to decipher. Kyousougiga is an incredibly rare kind of show, capable of telling so much, with so much, but also so little. The skill that it exercises in effectively characterizing each character is nothing short of breathtaking, and it becomes that much more rewarding to follow the characters on their journeys to heal. Dramatic characters with an emotional hook are common to see, but when done well, they never get old.
KONSHUU | Volume 58, Issue 3
THE NATURE OF THE LOOP RAHM JETHANI
Editor-In-Chief
2nd Year, English & Japanese
Aka I really just wanna talk about Episode 10…
SPOILERS FOR THE TATAMI GALAXY! The Tatami Galaxy’s storytelling method is, in essence, a gimmick. Where anime with route-based structures accomplish the multiple “what-if” scenarios through mini-arcs and sometimes-jarring continuity resets, Tatami’s central gimmick is the fact that its resets are actually diegetic to its story. This anime also successfully confronts the nature of the resetting world in a way that enhances its thematic message. An advantage to this method of storytelling, specifically for The Tatami Galaxy, is that although a viewer might piece together Tatami’s relatively simple puzzle pieces, each of the show’s alternative realities make nods to previous and future continuities in order to keep the audience’s interest. These miscellaneous references (and more importantly, miscellaneous questions) are then able to be paid off when the mystery of The Tatami Galaxy’s loop is revealed in the brilliant penultimate episode.
Nine of The Tatami Galaxy’s eleven episodes follow a very similar format. The main unnamed character, deemed Watashi, recaps his college experience, with each episode having him join a different social circle. In each circle, he experiences many high hopes, but ultimately finds himself caught in one increasingly disappointing situation after another. In each reality, Watashi is told by a fortune teller that he needs to seize the future that lies in front of him, but he ultimately isn’t able to do so. Then, at the pinnacle of his struggles, he wishes he could have just joined a different group. Time resets, and the episode ends. This format introduces us to many characters, ideas, and situations that show up in subsequent episodes, and the audience quickly gets used to this formula. How-
ever, as each alternate time loop continues to end in disaster, we get the idea that maybe Watashi is doomed to live a horrible life, no matter what social circle he joins. This then leads to Episode 10, where Watashi decides not to join any circle. The initial impression of Episode 10 is its striking visual presentation. Blending grayscale photos of real life environments with Tatami’s fluid animation creates a powerful sense of surrealism which boldly stands out to viewers. This art style is drastically different from the rest of the show, which prominently features exaggerated abstraction combined with pleasing color schemes. Even though each episode looks and feels different, the aesthetics of Episode 10 are made to be distinctly unnerving.
The title “The Tatami Galaxy” refers to a realization made by Watashi in this episode. He, for a time, is comfortable staying inside his perfect 4.5 tatami room as a hikikomori. But when he decides to look outside, he finds more and more tatami rooms, each looking extremely similar to the next. Unable to escape, Watashi is forced to stay in this “tatami galaxy” until he realizes how to leave. This process takes agonizingly long, but each step Watashi makes in the right direction reveals the nature of his prison, and therefore the workings of The Tatami Galaxy’s mysterious gimmick. One notable discovery Watashi makes is that each tatami room is a representation of an alternate path he could have taken in life (he even briefly interacts with his Episode 5 counterpart). The second important discovery Watashi makes is the way to return to regular life. Because Watashi now has the point of view of an observer, not unlike the audience, he sees all of his lives and all of their meanings. He realizes that whatever path he takes in life, the most important thing is to keep going until he reaches a more positive result. After this profound realization, Watashi is finally able to grasp the future that lies in front of him, and he destroys the metaphysical tatami galaxy. The Tatami Galaxy is a simple anime with a poignant life philosophy. And, although we cannot reset our lives or sensibly reflect on alternate ones like Watashi, we still have the power to seize our futures, dangling in front of us.
KONSHUU | Volume 58, Issue 3
Misane Mikoto 1bitHeart Art By Willow Otaka
KONSHUU | Volume 58, Issue 3
DABI DANCED AND SO DID WE DEVON NGUYEN
Writer
3rd Year, Anthropology
I Have Yet to Experience a Mystery Reveal as Exhilarating as This
SPOILERS FOR MY HERO ACADEMIA The Paranormal Liberation War arc of My Hero Academia is often hailed as the ongoing series’ best arc. Its fast paced action, meaningful character development, and the utilization of the greater Class 1-A cast are just a few of its notable qualities. A lot happens within the walls of the fifty-three chapters that this arc encompasses, but no moment stands out to me the most other than the reveal of Dabi as Touya Todoroki, the deceased older brother of Shouto Todoroki. Paired with the carefully placed trail of breadcrumbs that author Kohei Horikoshi had left, alongside the ever increasing fanfare of the curious connections between Dabi and the Todoroki family, the unraveling of this all-consuming mystery was nothing short of extremely satisfying. Everything started during the Forest Training Camp arc, when the League of Villains ambushed the unassuming students of Class 1-A at their training camp. During an attempt to save his incapacitated classmate, Todoroki is intercepted by Dabi, who then mutters something that would send fans into a theory-crafting frenzy for the next couple years: “That’s sad…Shouto Todoroki”. Four simple words that would carry so much weight. From there people began to wonder, why did Dabi’s taunting words feel personal? It sounded as if he knew Todoroki, as if he had known of all the abusive training he had gone through as a child and expected him to be stronger–to be better. I vividly remember the collective shift in the community once the anime covered this moment. People who once scoffed at the idea of a connection were now admitting that they could see what people were talking about. Acknowledgements of how they both had bright turquoise colored eyes and near identical fire quirks were made, and before anyone knew it, the idea of Dabi being related to Todoroki spread like wildfire. Admittedly, I remained skeptical about this theory for a while. It just seemed too good to be true. Dabi was probably just interested in Todoroki because he was the son of the number two hero at the time and also had a fire quirk, there wasn’t anything else to it. My skepticism gradually melted away though, replaced by wholehearted agreement as over the course of the multiple arcs that led up to the Paranormal Liberation War arc, it became more apparent
to me that Horikoshi just might have been setting up something bigger than I could’ve ever imagined. We witness another tense and fiery moment between Dabi and another member of the Todoroki family, this time with the patriarch, Endeavor, who Dabi also seemed to have been unusually familiar with. We also learn that Todoroki had a deceased older brother who was a rather painful sore spot amongst everyone in the family. We then see how familiar Dabi is with Hero Society during his interactions with Hawks, when the pro-hero was undercover within the League of Villains, coming off as much more knowledgeable than his fellow League members. Things just kept building and building, and fans only became more and more adamant that their theories would be proven true. I was convinced that if Horikoshi had decided to go nowhere with this escalation of connections, then he would’ve lost the faith of thousands of earnest fans. And then it finally happened. Before the 2020 United States presidential election could even be confirmed, Chapter 290: Dabi’s Dance was released, confirming four agonizing years of fan theories and skepticism. With a feral grin, Dabi stood in front of a battle-worn Todoroki and Endeavor, then proceeding to dramatically pour a clear-looking liquid onto his head. While his jet black hair faded into snow white, Dabi urges Endeavor to refer to him with a more respectable name, Touya. The next couple panels can only be described as exhilarating, as Dabi tells his father and younger brother, as well as excited fans, everything. Just like that, the entire My Hero Academia fandom erupted into cheers across the world. ‘Dabi’ and ‘Touya Todoroki’ were trending higher than any of the political and sports hashtags on Twitter that night. r/BokuNoHeroAcademia crashed because of the influx of traffic and the sheer amount of posts being made. Even comic book sites started covering the reveal. Horikoshi had actually done it–he had pulled off one of the craziest and most satisfying reveals in recent shounen history. Three years later, fans still look back on the Dabi reveal as one of the series best moments. Horikoshi played into expectations, instead of subverting them, leaving everyone speechless when he actually went through with the reveal. The surprise sibling trope can be found in dozens of shounen titles, ranging from well executed to completely out of nowhere. The Touya Todoroki reveal is arguably the best surprise sibling reveal I’ve had the pleasure of reading. In a world where subverted expectations are the norm in fictional media, Horikoshi reminded us that a good plot twist doesn’t have to surprise the audience. It just has to surprise the characters in the story and change the course of the plot.
VOLUME 58, ISSUE 3 OCTOBER 21, 2023
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