branchandroot

First a little toying with language and then some analysis of the series art.

Linguistics

I love etymology. It says such fascinating things about the operation of human minds and cultures. Unfortunately, I don’t read Japanese, so I can’t do it properly for anime. Still, there are some very entertaining tidbits to be had by looking in dictionaries, even having to rely on romaji transliterations.

For example. Shishou means “master or teacher,” we all know that. So far so good. It also means “stab or puncture wound” (how appropriate to this case), “stabbing or stimulation” (not saying a word), “obstacle, hinderance, impediment or difficulty” (how very appropriate), and “anthology” (…whatever). Obviously, I can’t say whether the kanji are the same or not, but the list made me laugh anyway.

Watsuki admits that “rurouni” is not an actual word, insofar as that is not how one would write/say “wandering masterless samurai.” The JEDI suggests that the word for this is tenjikurounin. The concept however, seems linguistically redundant. Again, if I’m breaking this down properly (which is not a given by any means) the character “rou” already indicates wandering; the wandering part seems embedded in the concept of masterless. It does strike me that Watsuki may have been going for a pun, calling on another meaning rou: comforting or striving; but that’s a different issue. Thing is, though, the only definition I’ve found for ru, at least on it’s own, is bend over. While this could be linguistically related to the whole wandering/meandering/curved meaning group, it was still a bit… disconcerting. I was immensely tickled, however, to discover that “rounin” can also indicate someone who failed their college entrance exams. This connection suggests, to my mind, all sorts of delightful things about the dangerousness of a little education not confined by an institutional affiliation. Academia–the last bastion of feudalism.

Speaking of puns. Everyone seems to agree that the kanji shin used in Kenshin’s name is the one that indicates heart. What interests me is that the word for a live blade, in Japanese, is shinken, the shin in this case being the one that indicates death (I’m fairly sure, correct me if I’m wrong). You could translate shinken, loosely, as “killing sword.” Call a spade a spade, yes? I imagine Watsuki may have intended another wordplay here, using these oh-so-tension-filled contrasting (or is is complementary?) meanings of shin. Besides, what better name for Kenshin than the killing sword reversed?

WARNING: if you do not have a sick and twisted sense of humor, skip this last item. It is not quite accurate to say that “oro” isn’t a real word. It isn’t a standard variation on exclamaitions of surprise (though orooro seems to be an adjective indicating nervous/flustered/in a dither/all shook up), but it does have a meaning. It means lochia or post-natal vaginal discharge. Afterbirth. Again, I can’t vouch for the kanji, but even so…

I warned you, didn’t I?

Artwork

The visual representations in this show are wonderful fun. These people all need haircuts so badly. Not that I don’t like the long hair; it’s lovely. But these people are supposed to be sword swingers, for crying out loud! Never mind lines of sight; I’m generally willing to accept the maxim that if you can see it coming it’s already too late. But having ticklish and prickly bits of hair trailing in your face is really, really distracting. I’ve found exactly two shots of Kenshin in which he seems to be brushing those bangs out of his eyes, see here and here. Two. Right. And it could easily be a sex-appeal move in both cases. Or perhaps a headache brought on by too much Hiko, in the case at the top. You’d think, really, that he’d do it more often. Or steal Sano’s headband or something.

And you notice it’s the ones who are good guys we get to see more often in superdeformed style?

While it’s the not-so-nice-guys we get to see all dark and brooding and, really, pretty hot? So, what’s the subtext here? That beatuy is dangerous?

Though we do get Himura in this sort of pose, too. But, then, I suppose he’s due dark-and-brooding screentime on behalf of Battousai; interesting that his brooding shots aren’t always marked with Battousai’s eyes.

The ones I find most interesting, though, are the artbook/cover art pictures. The things they say about characters’ characters and relationships to each other are just fascinating. Take the ‘family’ shots, for instance, that feature the Kenshin-gumi.

The first one is easy: they’re messy, they’re loud, they’re having a great time. Possibly even Kenshin Let’s hear it for the non-traditional family. The second one has more possibilities. Notice, for instance, that Megumi is on the far side from either Kenshin or Sano? Next to all the kids, in fact. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t get tied up with a romance in the story; maybe she’s genuinely not interested and just teases the boys for fun. And, inverting that, Sano is over next to Kenshin with kids between him and Megumi. So, how do we read that link? As a ‘familial’ connection between him and Megumi? As an indication that he’s closer to Kenshin than to the fox-lady? And then, Kenshin, while obviously part of the group, is sitting with his back partially turned to them. The outsider, even among his family-of-choice. Or perhaps it’s the fireworks he’s got his back turned to; no taste for explosions? Or not comfortable with the atmousphere of celebration? Maybe he’d rather brood. Interesting that both Yahiko and Sano are outside the little balcony. The ones who like living dangerously, perhaps? Or the ones who dislike domestic enclosure? That would make it even more interesting that Megumi is inside.

The shots of Kenshin and Kaoru also have lots of milage.

The first picture, once again, is the simpler. And one of my favorites. Kaoru looking at Kenshin while Kenshin plays with a sparkler. All the same, call it atmousphere or call it my own romantic streak, I get the impression from that picture that he’s happy she’s there. Now, the second set of shots are a lot more loaded. The strangest one, I think, is the top tableau. It looks pretty simple; Kenshin gets all protective and Kaoru gets all helpless looking (peh!). The strange thing is that he’s holding that sword between them. (And how’s he drawing it? Holding the sheath with his teeth?) So, he’s protective of her but won’t let her get too close; there’s their whole relationship encapsulated in one little graphic.

The lower image is unusual in that it shows Kaoru looking a lot sexier than usual (and wearing the obi from hell). So there she is, leaning back and a bit more low cut than usual, and here he is standing above her (but not over her, note) with the sword. What, is he a harem guard now? If we want to get into the really peculiar possibilities, that grip he has is pretty well positioned to spin the blade over and down on her. Sex and death. Oh, Freud…Herr Doktor Freud…AREN’T YOU DEAD YET!? But the more sexualized Kaoru gets, the more distant Kenshin gets in these shots. The only shot I have in which she is more unclothed than this, he’s absent altogather.

This shot is also one that plays the sexy-cute connection for all it’s worth. I mean, come on. Ankle socks? And the hair half coming down, and the soulful gaze upward (to the superiorly situated spectator). Sigh. I suppose I’m just not culturally equipped to enjoy this style–good thing, too.

Though, speaking of unclothed, the boys come in for their share. Kenshin seems most often to appear en deshabille in shots with Sano. I’ve really started having trouble believing we aren’t supposed to think there’s some sexual tension between those two.

On the other hand, the nature of that tension is extremely elusive. These two pictures are a case in point. Anything we can conclude from one can be denied by the other. The stances are almost identical: one standing behind, feet apart, one in front on one knee. But the positions are traded. I suppose I could make something of the fact that in the less overtly weapon-laden shot Kenshin is the one standing while in the more agressive shot it’s Sano. But I would also say that the more sensually loaded picture is the first; it shows more skin for one thing, but even aside from that there’s more dynamic tension between their positions than in the second. And, given the age=subtlety-in-romance connection apparent among the women, I think we could also read this as a manifestation of Kenshin’s status as the older. Curious that Kenshin is the unclothed one in both shots; is he more vulnerable or just more sexualized?

By contrast, Kenshin is always fully clothed when pictured with Hiko. So, is there an effort here to head off any sexualizing of their relationship? They’re also, if you note the first picture of the very first pair shown above, often shown with their backs to each other. Ignoring or defending?

Just in general, I get a kick out of the boy-shots. The variety of expression is great. This one, for instance, is the perfect tough-guys shot. Kenshin with the rather vicious smile. Saitou with the evil eye. Hiko, looking ready to punch someone. Sano, looking a whole lot more ready to punch someone. And Aoshi looking icy. Oooo, aren’t we all so dangerous? (muffled sniggers) They are, of course, but the poses are so melodramatic.

In this one, on the other hand, everyone looks rather cheery. Aoshi looks like he might be contemplating cracking a smile. Saitou, unusually, looks rather benign and rather limp-wristed to boot. I actually think Sano looks like he’s about to tweak Kenshin’s bangs or something. And Kenshin looks remarkably cheerful for someone who’s almost in a headlock.

Interesting positionings. In the macho, aggressive shot, Kenshin is all the way to the back; in the cheery, if snowy, shot, he’s all the way to the fore. Aoshi, who is in the front of the macho shot, moves to the back of the cheery shot. I suppose we couldn’t expect him to participate in the cheery-ness. Saitou seems to stay firmly in the middle of both; he’s the one who never moves a jot whatever the changing circumstances may be. Sano, too, doesn’t move much. He’s foregrounded in both shots. Perhaps he’s just an exhibitionist?

For a good overview of the visual symbolism of the OVAs (1-4), check this page out.