After the Great Depression struck every Imperial Power was taking steps to converting their Empires into Unions (French), or Commonwealth (Britian). The US had already assented to an Independent Philippines by 1947, and by and large the Great Depression forced a retreat from empire because it became too expensive and the situation became untenable. The weakness of the British in the Far East was the result of cut back s to military power and further negotiations and dialogue with groups like the Indian Nation Congress. Japan’s response to the turmoil was military coups at home, and opposing plans to secure an empire for resources. Extermination was not part of the official plans, but in practice what they came up with, systematic rape, casual brutality, looting (Japanese logistics were by far the worst of all major participants), use of poison gas, and Unit 731 given a carte blanche, the net result was just the same. There were reports of the Fall of Nanking which were celebrated at home with gusto, the beheading game between two officers was also publicized. Officially the policy was to have the Japanese do all the thinking while the rest can do all the heavy lifting. Lulu’s attempt to seize power was precisely that. He does the thinking the Chinese Federation does the lifting.

The ultimate fate of Unit 731 is controversial, but they did not all flee West as you imply. Rather, like the German engineers, both East and West made use of them because they could not trust each other to not make use of such knowledge. Gallipoli did define the relationship between the ANZACs and Great Britain, the operation could have been a success but the Royal Navy was already spilt into two opposing factions. Further delays on the British side only compounded problems leading to the perception that the ANZACs were brave ad courageous, but they were constantly hampered by the incompetence of British officers. Whereas before ANZAC faith in the Beitish Empire was strong at the out set, WWI and Gallipoli left a bad aftertaste where by the relationship was damaged to a point that it could no longer be what it once was.

Verdun was one success that led to the belief in a Maginot Line, that fixed defenses and overwhelming fire power could over come anything. Hence French doctrine post war emphasized fixed fortifications, and firepower exclusively, leading to their eventual collapse once the Germans flanked their defenses. The defensive mindset also doomed Poland as the majority of German divisions were committed east allowing the French if they wanted to, attack across the border with little opposition. Nationalism is not the casus belli for all wars but make up a significant portion of it in the modern world.

I am no expert on the current affairs of the Balkans, so I cannot comment fully on the Kosovo situation. The First Chechen War was about independence, the second was not about independence but rather it was subverted by global jihad. In that sense the second and ongoing Chechen conflict is military adventurism by those foreign fighters that make up a good majority of those fighting against he Russains. The way I see it the current Chechen conflict is not a war of independence, but a meat grinder whose cause will soon be forgotten. I highly doubt that given the recent prominence of foreign fighters that the Chechens are pleased and eager to have the war continue, moreover they seem to be getting sidelined as the war drags on.

The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan was advernturism on the part of the Soviets who underestimated the situation that they were getting into. It is important to remember that the recognized government of Afghanistan at the time was in the midst of a a civil war and that the native Afghan army was loyal and indeed instrumental in the Saur revolution. The rebels were already fighting against the PDPA and the other half of the Afghan Army that remained loyal to them. Once the Soviets intervened it only served to incite even more outrage.

Given that the Japanese had no internal opposition of any import or of any renown, as opposed to the “evil” Third Reich, on the face of it, the atmosphere of fear was enough to silence all opposition to what was going on. Unlike the situation in Germany where there were high profile people who resisted and paid dearly for it. Why was the situation in the more monstrous country conductive to resistance from big boys like Canaris, while the Japanese by and large did less? I think that just because there was no official policy does not mean that policy in practice can escape the label of evil as the acts perpetuated were just as monstrous if not more so. The execution of POWs, systematic rape of foreign women, slave labor, and Unit 731 is not a good reflection on the neutral character of Japanese Imperialism. Unit 731 and the military brothel system in particular were aspects rather unique to their brand of Asia for the Asians. Their behavior got worse as the war dragged on and especially at Nanking where there was no parallel on any other front. I have seen the pictures of that event and I cannot help but find such men who were willing to commit such acts and then run off scott free without any pangs of regret as anything less than human, and I doubt many would label such people good or even neutral in character. When their boast of Shanghai in three days, and China in three months proved an idle boast their superiority was shattered it was not going to be a walk in the park. The end result was that their belief in the easily attainable would cost them everything. The very inclusion of a military brothel system and the subsequent scale of rape it resulted in does not in my opinion make them the logical end result of Imperialism gone wrong, no other colonial power ever concocted a scheme so monstrous so deplorable even then that it is hard to dismiss as a natural or logical thing.

Their extreme right wields significant power and judging by the disputes over their Yasakuni Shrine honoring 14 convicted class A war criminals they have enough pull to bully their opposition into silence. Or perhaps their opposition lacks the will to fight back, either way this unchallenged far right is a rather unique aspect of Japanese politics. The lack of any effort to try and end the situation is rather curious, if the Right is as you say an abberation, then it is curious to note that this persistent thorn in Japanese relations is not being seriously dealt with.

It is going to take more than globalization to rid us of a plague that has persisted through out the ages since the dawn of civilization. Form what i have seen of surviving documents and letters even without the ideology of the Third Reich almost every other power that did participate left behind tangible records. If you run a military you will have mountains of paper work the needs to processed for logistics, reports, intelligence, pay lists, promotions, communiques, etc. Every army leaves behind a paper trail of some sort, for the Japanese military to be so big and yet so lacking in documentation is an oddity. It has nothing to do with perpetuating an extermination campaign.

On a side note: the reason the Japanese didn’t have documentation was mainly because they weren’t implementing an Endlosunng (as opposed to the Germans). The Rape of Nanjing, as terrible as it was, was not an organised campaign to exterminate the Chinese people. Yes, the Japs did use a scorched earth policy. Someone as learned as you in Mil History should know that when you have a tiny army trying to occupy large parts of the 3rd largest country in the world against hostile subjects they have to respond somehow. Furthermore, their clandestine and highly inhumane activities such as those of Unit 731 were documented and attempts were made to rid the evidence. What happened at the end of the war? many of those conducting experiments on chinese peasants ended up working for the West in the Cold War.

ON that final note I will posit a last argument. If, in the alternative (im a law student… cant help but use that phrase!) CG IS a piece of propaganda advocating japanese militarism I fail to see how you can easily attach moral iniquity to it. All the wars fought throughout history should make this patently clear; there is rarely a right or wrong. Nazi germany was an exception. Japanese militarism, however devastating the consequences, was simply the policy of imperialism taken to the extreme. It was an idiosyncracy endemic to the 20th century which is illfitting in a world where globalization allows me to communicate with others half way across the world, sharing ideas and breaking down the very preconceptions which are the nascent stirrings of jingoism and racism.

True, the Japanese Government of the time, which imitated Bismarckian Germany’s polity, embarked on expansionism. Why? Yes, there was a feeling of racial superiority going on. But unlike the drool coming from Hitler halfway across the world Japanese militarists were virtually unopposed due to the economic difficulties of the time (Japan’s great export, silk was effectively worthless during the Great Depression) and the systematic inculcation (through the education system and the promotion of a skewed reading of bushido) of a state and emperor worshipping doctrine. We shouldn’t forget that the primary basis of expansion for Japan wasn’t purifying the world of ’scum races’ but the need for resources. If you were Jap back in the day, you’d see Africa largely partitioned amongst the Euros, America involved in the Philippines and Russian communism at the gates. Wouldn’t it seem reasonable to expand?

None of this exculpates Japanese militarism. However it does go to show the limitation to which you can take this concept and apply it to Code Geass, which is clearly influenced by our zeitgeist. It deals with terrorism and sovereignty, and the idea of freedom and national identity. If anything it is an argument AGAINST the symbol of unchecked expansion (brittania) and autocracy.

Sure, it may be unpalatable that its themes are conveyed through terrorism and such acts but to draw a link to such anachronisms and the Coprosperity sphere is plainly misleading. If anyone is attempting such a system it would be Brittania. What CG asks of us instead is how should you deal with such a system? Should you do as the Japanese populace did up until 1945 and blindly follow them to the end? or do you stand up and fight? If Zero one day decided japan wasnt enough and that hed carve an empire from Australia to Siberia then the question would be different. But alas the context is one of resistance in the name of sovreignty.

Was the Kosovo Liberation Army embarking of military adventurism? What about the Chechens? The Afghanis during the 89 invasion by the USSR? The philippine resistance movement against the USA? No. These are cases of nationalism down the barrel of a gun. What other choice did they have? And this is the broader subtext that arises in Code Geass.

It isn’t some nostalgic rehashing of the halcyon days of Imperial Japanese might. Far from it. Today such military adventures are only dreamed of by those in the White house and their WMD hunts. It is neither economically saavy nor politcally sapient to go on a military safari, unless you’re possessed by some underlying weltanschuung that explicates some ‘good’ and ‘evil’ that must duel it out. Having been the only nation to have been subjected to atomic bombing somehow I doubt that this remains in the Japanese national psyche.

@Kaioshin
Here’s the critical difference, the Prinicpality of Zeon was overtly cloaked in allegories and references to the National Socialists, right down to how they fought the last stages of the war by using V3 (volksturm) and relying on wonder weapons of limited quantities in a last bid to win the war. The critical difference is that the Principality of Zeon was never the protagonist or the good guys as they started the precedent of colony drops. The Neo-Zeon movements were a mixture of reestablishing the old order (Delaz) and genuine independence (Char). Their redemption was in part because of Char who rejected the Principality not guys like Delaz.

Can’t comment on the other two as both were before my time and not legally obtainable at this time. Suffice to say however if the incident in Votoms involved five beaches, an alliance of troops, a pre-dawn air borne assault, a coup de main on a bridge of vital importance, and only one infamous blood bath then perhaps. However there were other bloody landings such as Anzio, and Dieppe. More over specific battles often rhyme, but campaigns and strategies vary greatly between wars. Gallipoli and Dieppe have a lot in common, Hutier’s campaigns were unique to his operational tastes. Lastly the Russo-Japanese war has no well defined ideology for “good” vs “bad” it was a colonial conflict in which side that lost the most was China, then Russia, and then Japan. In this aspect its choosing between colonialism by the Czar or the Emperor with neither being better or worse than the other. For reasons I cannot fully explain the Russo-Japanese war did not have a lasting aspect of hatred to it, mostly because they were both fighting in someone else’s backyard. Hence why it engenders much more vitriol form China than in Russia or Japan.

I recommend you read something other than secondary sources on the wars you speak of. There are an abundance of translations, maps, and first hand accounts to be found. The Russo Japanese war is quite interesting if you delve deeper, but if history is not your thing is suppose it will only bore you. Nevertheless the siege of Port Arthur is an interesting event that has parallels with the fighting on the Western Front in 1914-1918.

I’d like to know your thoughts.

Not going to rant, so here’s one note: Goro Taniguchi was assistant director, not director, for Gasaraki, which was directed by Ryousuke Takahashi of VOTOMS fame.

I’m feeling too lazy to write the actual essay length post explaining why I think this interpretation, while valid, is not inherently superior to what anyone else (including but far from limited to myself) could present. In other words, there are many other ways to look at Code Geass, either partially or completely different from Crusader’s.

Stating the obvious but, again, making the necessary points would take too much time, as would engaging in a real debate.

I can’t seem to enjoy debating anime these days, but I also keep coming back to political blogs and forums, ironically enough. Guess I’m weird like that.

not to say complaining isn’t fun but i’d say it’s not just geass but since this particular show is one of the most popular animes out now and has for its bread and butter a soap opera version of realpolitik… and since japanese shows are pretty popular worldwide, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that something like geass which is created and marketed for japanese audiences will have a life outside of its intended context which is increasingly international. and since it’s referencing the real world, well, discussion of the real world is bound to be a part of that. maybe there are thoughtful and sophisticated ways of going about doing fictional imperialism or romanticizing independence movements or whatever but geass, not really… well the way they’ve calibrated the show for max fanboy/fangirl appeal is pretty sophisticated. maybe the creators don’t really care about politics or history beyond than how cool rearranging it can be. the show is just out to make money, but does that preclude serious discussion about the themes etc in this show? i don’t think so anyway. and even though the the discussion seems to have quickly coalesced along japan versus u.s. lines that’s not the only perspective on the politics of geass possible of course… plenty of english speakers with other national backgrounds who read this and other anime blogs i’m sure. sorry im too jaded but anime is conference room corporate production that’s coming out of a specific context (present-day japan) so real subversiveness or edginess (and no lelouch is not edgy) as far as politics go is expecting too much from entertainment, needless to say in the majority of popular media. (this last part of the comment meant to be general not specific)

Also I wasn’t arguing that Crusader was biased against the studio or show, but rather that there was bias in the argument itself (A western slant on the issue) that I think Haesslich highlighted and Crusader conceded to a little. Though when you bring up appeal to motive, isn’t Crusader doing that a little when he:

Begs the question http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question that it’s Taniguchi’s intent to justify militaristic nationalism and racism. Essentially he asks us to assume that is the intent in order to justify that this is the intent when he is pointing out all those historical conflicts that don’t really even get tied much to Geass in the argument now that I think about it.

I would almost argue that you are showing a little bias here to as well as you are overlooking many of the leaps of logic that people have pointed out in Crusader’s article, but somehow presenting points that I haven’t even really tried to argue. Essentially that’s a Strawman Argument. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawman_argument Really you have yet to even confront what Crusader has postulated so before we could ever really continue (By Crusader’s graces) I would hope to hear your thoughts on it.

@Crusader: “Code Geass is successful therefore questions will be asked as to the nature of it. Is it’s lack of political sensitivities and drawing upon a legacy of bitterness racism or is it nothing more than mecha and harem?”

That’s the million dollar question. :/

As far as I can see, you’ve committed at least two logical fallacies, both of them red herrings, in your arguments against Crusader:

Appeal to Motive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_motive

This is where you’re basically accusing Crusader of making the argument purely because he is biased against Sunrise or Code Geass, or what have you.

Two Wrongs Make A Right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_wrongs_make_a_right

This is where you commit a variation by pulling out examples from Kadokawa, or any of KyoAni’s works, to imply that because they’re “worser offenders” of whatever “crimes” are being discussed, what Sunrise or Code Geass do is not so bad.

I’m only pointing this out because it’s not the first time you’ve committed these red herrings, and not just to Crusader or even me; I very rarely find your arguments credible just because of these. You need to work on your argumentative style a bit more.

Both Arabs and Hispanics are part of the more recent wave of immigration. Once the hubbub dies down and they have been here long enough things tend to ease off. In America you will always hear of it, in a more ethnically “pure” state the minority cannot even so much as complain. America is not a melting pot we do not end up the same. We are morel like fruit salad. We are in close contact and taken collectively, yet remain distinct. The reason why America lashes out a the other is when a war takes place. Immigration has always been a problem, one that has been over looked and ignored for so long that the situation appears nigh un-salvagable. However because there is no dominant group there is an impasse that is too difficult now to surmount.

The way I see it given how America is made up of a bunch of diverse people whose compatriots back in the motherland are also racist it makes sense that we ourselves can be racist. Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” is a simple highlight of the complexities of having to deal with the other face to face as equals. You think we ought to know better, but those who attacked on 9/11 looked alike and inevitably their faces defined the hated other that dared to attack a civilian target. The common perception is that only Caucasians can be racist and are pretty much the vast majority of racists in the US. This is patently false even the non-White minorities are capable of racism just as vile and just as poisonous. We are still a part of the peoples we left, and thusly are scarcely better. The only thing we have going is that we were all sick of life back in the motherland, however our reasons are all different.

I wish it were better, at least in the units I have seen, cooperation between servicemen is not inhibited by any racial bigotry and the desire to see Azzam the American on a pike near universal.

Japan’s seeming military weakness also allows it to invest much more in its economy. They remain a major naval power in the region so until China creates enough military might to challenge the USN a Japanese Naval Buildup is not urgently needed. China is well aware that any naval build up they do would lead to a game of “risk theory” with a possible more bloody Jutland being a likely out come. Given how Hu is still strangling people in his own party and fighting corruption a replay of the Battle of the Yalu River will be on his mind. The US does not keep it “weak” without rhyme or reason. If Japan were to re-arm it would spark an arms race Japan could ill-afford, while China’s economy remains strong. The Russian Pacific Fleet is a shadow of its former glory, and China lacks the Navy to overtly invade Japan. We also have to Keep South Korea, arguably a more valuable ally given their military might happy. It’s not just that they need the American Nuclear Umbrella, its also because the cost of going at it alone would require huge expenditures of national wealth that they would have a hard time justifying to a constituency still longing for the 1980s. Building a bomb is no small matter and it would give rise South Korea an North Korea going nuclear if Japan does the same.

The Koreans are still wary of a militarily powerful Japan. India is probably the ideal counterbalance to China’s growing might. US foreign policy is not guided by the hand of malice, but rather one that is lazy. Japan is for practical purposes a Great Power in reality if not in name, the reason why the Japan US alliance is so invaluable is because of a China, which is at the brink of Superpower might. Japan is too dependent on imports to be a superpower without building another empire. It is not all together an unequal relationship as Washington and Tokyo have haggled over bases and ships. During the Nixon’s Era it was precisely because Japan was not a puppet state under the heel of Washington that opening relations with China was desirable. It put pressure on India, Japan, and the USSR in a single swoop.

The oil pinch is also leading to the rise in the cost of food every where including the Middle East. In globalization price hikes ripple more easily.

@Tiger
Bills must be paid, and bonuses must be given. Better to advertise than to make the episode on the cheap.

@physics152
C2 will be queen of the Combine!

@Kaioshin
Army of Two was a lukewarm game. Shooting up Arabs is not going to sell a game. Hence if it were a critical and commercial success people would have cared, but it was not so it is a forgotten failure as it should be. Did you even play the game? The message was mercs cool, military bad. It was not for the most part a celebration of nationalism or patriotism, but of capitalism. At least that is what I saw for the few hours I played.

Speaking of racism in games the question remains whether or not RE4 is racist and if RE5 is too racist. We take notice of the things that do well or might do well, as for failures there is no need to give them any more press than they already got. Code Geass is successful there fore questions will be asked as to the nature of it. Is it’s lack of political sensitivities and drawing upon a legacy of bitterness racism or is it nothing more than mecha and harem?

By the way, for all the moaning that’s been done over the Pizza Hut product placement, the show is still nowhere near dethroning Lucky Star as the champion of product placement, where nearly every Kadokwa/Bandai and Toei product that was red hot at the time (including intersting enough Code Geass) was featured as if to give the nod that you should go buy it, although no more or less then Code Geass is saying that because C.C is eating Pizza that you should go out and get a slice too at your local Pizza Hut branch.

I don’t understand why people get extra pissy about it when it’s Geass though as it’s becoming more and more common place in anime anyway. I think people just resent the fact it’s popular and are looking for things to complain about again. Maybe they might want to start spreading the “love” around to shows that are just as deserving if not moreso.

CC takes over the world as CEO/chairman/owner of Pizza Hut and builds them all over the world proclaiming the new grilled meat/veggie pizzas to be the universal food of humanity. Domino’s resort to 5min delivery or free in order to keep pace. DiGiorno gets a hostile take over by CC piloting a resurrected Gawain.

Lulu, Suzaku, and Charles battle in Hell to see who would be Satan’s biatch.

Interesting point there.

I’ve always wondered what was Geass all about. From face value it seems pretty damn trashy but if you want to be pretentious, it has some moments that seem to signify a deeper show. Taniguchi, being a good director, makes the possibility for a smart show less outworldly.

Having seen Goro Taniguchi’s other stuff (Gasaraki, Planetes, Infinite Ryvius), Geass kind of feels absurdly out of place. Why use CLAMP character designs? Why throw chock-a-block-full of fanservice in random spots such as Kallen’s ass, skimpy dresses, lewd magazine posters, Pizza Hut product placement, incest/homosexual undertones, loli characters? Why even have Mechs in the show? Don’t forget about the school life elements which is currently the cool thing in Japan (heck Macross F’s QUALITY episode 8 had the highest TV ratings of all episodes).

Who knows, but while I can look at it with my ‘Deep Symbolism Glasses’, it’s getting harder and harder for me as it’s feeling more and more like an amalgam of everything popular in Anime today. Throw in some good symbolism that can make sense if you squint hard enough and you’ve got a blockbuster. First dozen or so episodes of Geass were simply fantastic but I do admit it has fallen a bit into commercial whoring.

And may I point out that Americans tend to be racist to other Americans mostly because of their visually being different, rather than being religiously or politically on another side? Especially since 9/11 – the enemy in MANY TV shows and movies have been Arabs, or at least Middle Eastern in derivation. The anti-immigrant backlash in southern states has focused more around Hispanics than refugees from war-torn African countries… although they still get more attention than say… Bosnians who fled the Balkans in the 1990’s. Iraqis who left their country during the Saddam years were targeted as possible security risks, and Japanese were interred during the 1940’s due in large part because they were obvious targets. Germans and Italians similarly got FBI attention, but not to the same extent of property seizures and internment which paralleled the Japanese internment of British and American soldiers captured during the Second World War.

Japan has the excuse of being isolationalist for centuries; America has no such excuse for its own similar acts, as you’ve pointed out the ‘melting pot’ effect which was a result of rampant immigration for centuries combined with the fact that the country itself is an amalgamation of several territories either bartered for or conquered… all of them with their own different cultural backgrounds (Spanish, French, Native American). These prejudices are reflected in the shows created around the time… and Code Geass, and most anime of the past five years, reflects anti-Americanism (thinly veiled or not) than blatant racism. Racism is a factor in Japanese politics still – see the way they have confronted (or not confronted) atrocities against Chinese or Koreans during the Second World War, and how Koreans in Japan still get near-burakumin treatment despite being second or third-generation descendants of people relocated to Japan… but that isn’t reflected in the shows I’ve seen in the past five, ten years.

Anti-Americanism is NOT racism – it’s just antipathy towards a nation which has both built up Japan as an economic power by providing it with support during the post-war years when starvation was a threat as well as introducing certain technologies later refined by the Japanese… and the sense of injured pride that comes from being kept militarily weak in the face of Russian/Soviet and Chinese military threat profiles becoming ever more prominent as they’ve becone economic competitors instead of just potential customers. That, and the impressions of toadying from recent Prime Minsters who have basically toed the American line regarding Iraq and Afghanistan, among other things.

And while the ‘war on terror’ has been sidelined to some extent, that applies mostly to ‘common folk’ who are seeing few tangible results in their own lives and rising costs of living due to situations which were unintentionally exacerbated by the aftermath of those two wars in question… namely the destruction of the oil industry’s infrastruction in Iraq, as well as growing anti-American hostility worldwide which has resulted in old suppliers being less willing to offer favorable deals to their American partners.