Oh man, another turn of the screw here.
Alright, today I am going to more seriously consider the possibility that I influenced / inspired late 90’s anime. I mean, modern anime, yes, but that is obvious.
I mean, I’m talking here about stuff like Serial Experiments Lain and Naruto. And possibly Bleach, I guess, tho I’ve not seen much of it. I don’t see much of the past myself in One Piece. I mean, the 90’s me.
But Serial Experiments Lain… yikes, that is a real puzzle box, there. I mean, there is the obvious similarities between the shows plot and protagonist and me and the life I live. I mean, that’s the obvious and easily discerned stuff. But then there’s the personal.
Well… I saw Lain the first time about 4 years ago, and the extreme and obvious parallels between Lain and me were… obvious and extreme. I mean, the whole “talking with your mind through the electrical grid to the general public” thing, and the whole “multiple personalities” thing, and the whole “computer geek” thing, and… a lot of other stuff, like her general upbringing, etc., that might just have to do with the times in which the anime was made.
But yeah, geez, the other stuff. The whole plot, her autism and telepathy, her mind control and ownership over all the deeper and higher levels of energy of the flow of life, and so much else- it’s all so very very “me”, excepting the Japanese setting and the hero’s gender.
And that’s really what made me pause and doubt that this had anything to do with me, until I remembered the opening of the show when I rewatched the first few episodes a few days ago.
The show actually kicks off with the voice of an American teenager who sounds like I did at the time, who gives the audience the cryptic message of “Present Day, Present Time!” which… I don’t know, what do you guys think? And after the American boy starts the program, the opening song kicks in, which, very notably, is in English, not Japanese. These are it’s lyrics…
————————————–
And you don’t seem to understand,
A shame you seemed an honest man
And all the fears you hold so dear
Will turn to whisper in your ear.
And you know what they say might hurt you.
And you know that it means so much.
And you don’t even feel a thing.
I am falling,
I am fading,
I have lost it all
And you don’t seem the lying kind,
A shame that I can read your mind.
And all the things that I read there,
Candle-lit smile that we both share.
And you know I don’t mean to hurt you.
But you know that it means so much.
And you don’t even feel a thing.
I am falling,
I am fading,
I am drowning,
Help me to breathe
I am hurting,
I have lost it all,
I am losing
Help me to breathe…
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Uhm… wow. I don’t know what to make of this. See, this isn’t just “a little bit” like me, it’s like… this song just seems to be directed at me, personally, with a kind of shocking, unnerving accuracy that I frankly can’t believe. When I saw this anime for the first time a few years ago I didn’t seriously expect it to reflect me, so I just watched it on it’s own merits and liked it, and perhaps put up some amnesiac walls between my real self and show’s content, to block it off from my consciousness… I mean, since I wasn’t ready to process it at the time, you know?
But this song- holy Christ. Tying this together with the American boy who starts the show seems to almost point the thing directly at me in a way that perhaps no other anime ever has. I mean, I think. Unless there’s another explanation for this, that accounts for the extreme similarities between Lain and I, and the shockingly accurate portrayal there of everything my controller personalities do.
I mean like, how she and I went through school? It was the same. The dissociation, and merest details of our powers? The same longing for normal human affection, the same autism / schizophrenia, the same effect of my powers as hers does, and… it’s just SO SIMILAR.
And take note that Lain was not based on a Manga, unlike virtually all other popular anime. So… what was it based on, then? What was the source material, there?
I don’t know, of course. But I can wager a guess, though.
Lain debuted in 1998, long after Hollywood started producing films based on my fantasies. No problem there. But I mean… it’s Japanese, right? So it… can’t be, right? Maybe? I guess?
Maybe? But seriously, how the fuck would I know?
I don’t know. I mean, I just don’t know. But it’s just… so similar. And again, all the weird coincidences and giant winking nods in my general direction, lol. But I mean… it’s Japanese, right? About a Japanese girl, who just happens to me, it seems.
Soooooo weirrrrrrrrrrd.
But… so cool, too. Lain is a great show; it really is. There are good reasons why it remains so popular. It’s great, really. So intriguing. Believe me that everything I say here I say with affection for the show and it’s creators.
I don’t know about Naruto, although I’ve considered it, lately. I remember writing about the show on here, before, when I considered once (very wrongly) that my development might have been influenced by it. I was very off base with that hypothesis of course, and in fact I was so wrong I am forced to consider now that in fact Naruto might have been based on me, instead of the other way around.
Maybe. I mean, this one is less clear. I mean, Naruto the character is clearly American- I mean, he’s technically Japanese, but he doesn’t look it or act like it, at all. He seems to have been based on a combination of Calvin, Bart Simpson, Dennis the Menace, and a Japanese martial artist.
And maybe more than a little of me- a different set of personal traits applies here, with my history of Karate (which I have documented was important to the media before Naruto was in print), my general American-ness, my personality (back then), my appearance, obviously, and… my fondness for Japanese culture, and… other stuff? I don’t know, it’s been awhile since I watched it.
But the hypnotic eyes, though, sported by other characters in the manga? Sure.
And… well… I’m kinda hungry-ish? I’ll finish this later maybe.