STRAY DOG of ANIME: the Films of Mamoru Oshii

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STRAY DOG of ANIME: the Films of Mamoru Oshii 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page i STRAY DOG OF ANIME This page intentionally left blank 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page iii STRAY DOG OF ANIME * The Films of Mamoru Oshii BRIAN RUH 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page iv STRAY DOG OF ANIME Copyright © Brian Ruh, 2004. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published 2004 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 1-4039-6329-0 hardback ISBN 1-4039-6334-7 paperback Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ruh, Brian. Stray dog of anime : the films of Mamoru Oshii / Brian Ruh. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-4039-6329-0 — ISBN 1-4039-6334-7 (pbk.) 1. Oshii, Mamoru—Criticism and interpretation. 1. Title. PN1998.3.O83R84 2004 791.43’34023’092—dc22 2003068903 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Letra Libre. First edition: June 2004 10987654321 Printed in the United States of America. 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page v CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Preface ix CHAPTER ONE An Introduction to Oshii 1 CHAPTER TWO Urusei Yatsura (1981–84) 11 CHAPTER THREE Angel’s Egg (1985) 45 CHAPTER FOUR Twilight Q 2: Labyrinth Objects File 538 (1987) 61 CHAPTER FIVE Mobile Police Patlabor (1988–93) 73 CHAPTER SIX Ghost in the Shell (1995) 119 CHAPTER SEVEN Jin-Roh (2000) and Blood the Last Vampire (2000) 141 CHAPTER EIGHT Avalon (2000) 165 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page vi CHAPTER NINE Conclusion 185 Mamoru Oshii Filmography 197 Notes 203 Bibliography 215 Index 225 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FIRST AND FOREMOST,I MUST THANK MY WIFE, Sarah Ruh, for help- ing with everything related to this book. She was extremely patient with me as my attitudes vacillated throughout the course of the project. She also offered crucial insights into the work and read (and reread) many of the drafts. Without her support, I do not think I would have been able to complete this project. I am indebted to Professor Susan J. Napier at the University of Texas at Austin, who served as my mentor and guide while I was working on my master’s degree. It was through her classes that I began to appreciate the artistry of Oshii’s films. She also intro- duced me to Toby Wahl, my editor at Palgrave, paving the way for the publication of this book. I hope that through this volume I am able to do justice to what she has taught me. I would also like to thank the other professors from whom I took classes while at the University of Texas or who have given me assistance: Hiroshi Aoy- agi, Robert Khan, Patricia Maclachlan, Charles Ramirez Berg, and John Traphagan. Additionally, I need to thank: Frenchy Lunning at the Min- neapolis College of Art and Design, for inviting me to present a draft of a couple of chapters at the Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits conference; Scott Frazier, for being my first interview victim early in the project; Carl Gustav Horn, for the fascinating info and the Anchor Steam; Mark Schilling, for his insightful e-mails about Japanese film and his timely review of Killers (from which I gleaned much of my knowledge of the film); Jerry Chu at Bandai Entertainment; Ivette Perez at Central Park Media; Yoshiki Saku- rai at Production I.G., for helping to arrange my visit to the studio; 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page viii viii * STRAY DOG OF ANIME Kukhee Choo, Todd Tilma, and Kara Williams, my graduate school compatriots at Texas; Brent Allison, Lawrence Eng, Mikhail Koulikov, and everyone else in the Anime and Manga Research Circle; Marc Hairston; Karen Zarker at PopMatters.com; everyone from the fifty-third Japan-America Student Conference in 2001; and all of the fine folks who post on the Production I.G. message board. I must also thank my friends and family, who have kept me sane (or just ever so slightly insane) while I’ve worked on the book: my parents, Richard and Christine Ruh; my parents-in-law, Daniel and Barbara Skinner; my grandfather, Charles Brenner; the Bren- ner and McGlothlin clans; my grandmother-in-law, Hilda Eibert; my sister-in-law, Mandy Skinner; Bryan Bick; Kerensa Durr and Brandon Hatcher; Chris Miller; Casey Mumaw; and Sara Weiser. The basis for what I have written was my master’s thesis in Asian Cultures and Languages at the University of Texas at Austin. Titled “A Cyborg Mephisto: Mythology in the Science Fic- tion Films of Oshii Mamoru,” the thesis examined how Oshii uses religion and myth in his two Patlabor films, Ghost in the Shell, and Avalon. It was the culmination of my work at U.T., and I am glad that I am getting the chance to expand on and share my analysis of Oshii’s films with a wider audience. Note: In the text, all names are given in Western order, with given name first and surname second. Japanese words are roman- ized according to the modified Hepburn system, except in cases in which there are already accepted English spellings of the Japanese words. (For example, I use “Oshii” rather than “Oshı¯” and “Shi- row” rather than “Shiro¯.”) 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page ix PREFACE TO BE HONEST, MY FIRST EXPERIENCE of one of Mamoru Oshii’s films left me unimpressed. After hearing the film hyped in the small presses for some time, my girlfriend (now wife) and I rented a tape of Ghost in the Shell. Unfortunately, the only version of the film the small video store in Indiana carried had been dubbed into English. Although the visuals were outstanding, the story seemed muddled. By the end I felt as if I had completely missed the point of the story. As I rewound the tape, I wondered why there had been so much acclaim for such an incoherent film. It was not until a few years later when I decided to give the film another chance and watched the subtitled version that I grasped the subtle com- plexities of Oshii’s filmmaking. I gained a renewed appreciation for the anime medium, as well as renewed scorn for films that have been overdubbed in a different language. The horrendous dub of Ghost in the Shell had almost turned me away from one of the greatest directors in animated Japanese cinema. (I recom- mend that readers watch Oshii’s films in the original Japanese di- alogue with English subtitles whenever possible.) My academic interest in anime continued to deepen, but it was not until gradu- ate school at the University of Texas that I began to take a serious interest in Oshii’s films. I took a cue from my mentor, Susan J. Napier, who encouraged me in my analysis of anime and Oshii’s films in particular. Her work caused me to reexamine my initial assessment of Ghost in the Shell and led me to a further study of Oshii’s works. As of this writing, I have yet to meet Mamoru Oshii in per- son, although it is not for lack of effort. I set up an interview with 01 ruh fm 5/13/04 3:13 PM Page x x * STRAY DOG OF ANIME him in March 2003, arranged for an interpreter, and flew to Tokyo to interview the director at the studios of Production I.G. Unfor- tunately, he was sick at home for the duration of my stay. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I had thought that by being able to ap- prehend the man in the flesh, I would be in a better position to un- derstand the films that have sprung from his imagination. In a sense, though, failing to meet with Oshii led me to a better under- standing of some themes in his works. Just as his later films demon- strate the mediation of daily life through technology, so were my interactions with the director mediated, through both computer technology and the barrier of language. Oshii did answer my ques- tions about his films, translated and passed on to me from my ever- helpful contact at Production I.G., Yoshiki Sakurai. In some respects, I think it is good that I was not able to meet with Oshii in person. His answers to direct queries about the meanings of his films invariably generate more questions than they resolve. Although I have used quotes from him to support specific assertions I make in the book, Oshii has always been a proponent of letting the viewer make up his or her own mind about the mean- ings of his films. Thus this book is not the final authority on Oshii’s works. I have provided my own interpretations to serve as a guide while viewing the films, but in the end it is up to viewers to determine their nature.
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