I know it's not strictly anime but we can choose not to be petty fucks about animation.

Just watched S1 of this and I can't help but see a strong allegory. Hell is literally a prison for undesirables that heaven regularly comes down into for the purposes of doing various genocidal exterminations. The population of Hell are unable to fight back. Then a major upset event occurs that makes everyone realise that heaven can bleed.

I can't help but think all the way through this show that Hell desperately needs a liberation army to break out of their imprisonment.

Anyone seen it? Thoughts? First couple of eps felt a bit ehh but it finds its stride when it starts leaning in on being a musical and some of the characters are genuinely really fucking good, looking at you Alastor with your incredible radio voice.

Anyway if you haven't watched it I kinda recommend it and not to be put off by the first couple eps feeling overly edgy/cringe. It finds a good rhythm after them.

  • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    9 months ago

    I quite liked it. Helluva Boss is really good too once you get past the edgy for the sake of being edgy eps.

    And yeah, the thought of Palestine crossed my mind but I think it's just that uprisings against oppression are a common theme we identify with.

    • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      9 months ago

      Tbh, for better or for worse, a lot of stories and media these days just have "uprising against oppression" as a theme and I... don't know how to feel about that.

      Why?

      Because it's nothing specific and doesn't really identify (not often, anyway) actual specific problems.

      Hell, at best, the primary problem is "big government bad" or, at best, "big corporation" bad, but that tells us nothing.

      I mean, all I'm saying is: you're not really going to find many shows about bad medical care and people paying exorbitant costs for such incompetent medical treatment.

      (And please don't bring up Breaking Bad because that's not left-wing, I would argue.)

      • viva_la_juche [they/them, any]
        ·
        9 months ago

        out bad medical care and people paying exorbitant costs for such incompetent medical treatment.

        boots has you covered

        light spoiler for i'm a virgo

        in case it isn't included bc i can't watch it with sound rn: the context for this scene is they're protesting a young man dying from being denied service for being uninsured at a private hospitl

      • invo_rt [he/him]
        ·
        9 months ago

        Why?

        joyce-messier "Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would critique capital end up reinforcing it instead..."

        In the US, the cultural vibe is of people feeling like they're not in control of their own lives. Spoiler, they aren't, but without coherent political analysis, that vibe remains just a vibe. Capitalism is efficient at picking up, repackaging, and marketing that vibe back to you. Go to the theater, cheer for the underdog overthrowing their oppressor, and then hurry home because you have a shift at the human misery factory in the morning that you can't afford to miss.

          • invo_rt [he/him]
            ·
            9 months ago

            Totally agree. Just felt like tossing my two cents in.

            • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
              ·
              9 months ago

              No, I liked it, actually. Sorry, wasn't sure if we were just regurgitating the same things without knowing, but I liked the bit from Capital there.

              Edit: Oh wait, I think this is from Disco Elysium (hence the emoji)!

              lol!

      • RyanGosling [none/use name]
        ·
        9 months ago

        Breaking Bad wasn’t about a poor guy who couldn’t afford medical care. That was only a catalyst.

        why?

        There have been left wing media that critiques specific aspects of capitalism. But regardless of intent, the capitalists have monetized anti capitalism. Something something we let the anti capitalist movies do anti capitalism for us so we an consume in peace pog-fish

        • Pluto [he/him, he/him]
          ·
          9 months ago

          "There have been left wing media that critiques specific aspects of capitalism. But regardless of intent, the capitalists have monetized anti capitalism. Something something we let the anti capitalist movies do anti capitalism for us so we an consume in peace!"

          Oh, this is also true, but I still stand by what I originally said.

          And as for Breaking Bad, it's obviously not that deep, I would argue, and it doesn't take on capitalism directly.

          Yes, the cancer was a catalyst and the lack of medical care, but I don't think that it quite makes capitalism center stage or even really critiques it without being needlessly vague.

          At best, it's more about a person lying to himself about how he's doing it "all for his family." That's it.