I don't have much for a blurb this time. Episode 3 is my favorite of the whole series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Chroniko :(
What is the community rewatch?: This is a place where /c/anime can watch and discuss older shows and movies on an episode by episode basis. Threads will occur every two days with the exception of movie episodes, which will have threads that span one week.
What are we watching: Kaiba
What’s it about: In a world where memories exist in memory chips separate from the body, death of the body no longer means death of the soul. It is possible for memories to be viewed, altered, and transferred between bodies. These memory chips are used by the rich to obtain eternal lives in carefully selected bodies, while for the poor, selling their own bodies and conserving their souls in the chips often become the only way to earn a living. An electrolytic cloud in the sky serves as a barrier between the heavens of the fortunate and the underworld of the destitute, making this social division impregnable.
One day, a man named Kaiba wakes up in an empty room with no memories, a mysterious hole in his chest, and a locket holding the picture of an unknown woman. After escaping an attack and stumbling upon a decrepit village of underworld residents, he begins his adventure across the different planets of this strange universe to find out more about his own identity and the woman he once knew.
Through a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, Kaiba weaves together tales of souls and spirits and explores the importance of memories.
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFI_Fl1sRWg
Where can I watch it: https://twist.moe/a/kaiba/1 https://9anime.ru/watch/kaiba.wr6/3rqplpy https://nyaa.si/?f=0&c=1_0&q=kaiba
This anime is amazing. I used to be heavy into anime, but the past few years I've just been bored by everything I've tried to watched, and usually stop partway through. This anime is reminding me of why I got into anime to begin with. Thank you so much whoever started this community rewatch and decided to start with Kaiba.
I guess I don't really understand the story w the mom - Why did her memories begin to come back as the episode progressed? My interpretation is that as times got tough, she had to sell her good memories to get by, and in so doing forgot why she loved Chroniko and became this evil stepmother character. So she sells Chroniko bc she doesnt want to care for her and so she can buy her own memories back. And then she injects her good memories when she buys them back (theres that scene where she injects something into her memory chip), and all her good memories of Chroniko, her husband, her sister start flooding back. Does this interpretation make sense to anyone? Or did you see the story w the mom different?
This anime is amazing. I used to be heavy into anime, but the past few years I’ve just been bored by everything I’ve tried to watched, and usually stop partway through. This anime is reminding me of why I got into anime to begin with. Thank you so much whoever started this community rewatch and decided to start with Kaiba.
I think you'll like the rest of Yuasa's stuff if you liked this. Ping Pong is a personal favorite of mine.
I guess I don’t really understand the story w the mom - Why did her memories begin to come back as the episode progressed? My interpretation is that as times got tough, she had to sell her good memories to get by, and in so doing forgot why she loved Chroniko and became this evil stepmother character. So she sells Chroniko bc she doesnt want to care for her and so she can buy her own memories back. And then she injects her good memories when she buys them back (theres that scene where she injects something into her memory chip), and all her good memories of Chroniko, her husband, her sister start flooding back. Does this interpretation make sense to anyone? Or did you see the story w the mom different?
I hadn't even considered this. I had mostly just seen it as an abuse archetype, with poverty being the main driver into selling her daughter into slavery. Some of these transhumanist themes fly over my head sometimes.
I think that makes sense emotionally, as the refilling shelves definitely seem to support the idea of memories returning or reconstructing themselves. Otoh the fact that the imagery is specifically books and music records and Chroniko mentions not being able to remember anything prior to receiving the boots (as well as the fact that it was specifically her memories of books and music that were sold) seem to hint that they were originally Chroniko's memories? I'm actually not sure myself, even after rewatching the flashbacks a few times. The less cynical interpretation feels more natural, but the two things that give me pause are the fact it's hard to reconcile the selfishness of her own kids with the way they're portrayed in the updated memories, and the books and music aspect.
Ignoring the issue of the reconstructed memories, it's definitely clear that the aunt wiped stuff from her own memories -- in the earlier version of the flashback her husband shows up as this disembodied shadow in the post-accident boots gifting scene. It's probably the most explicit hint I can find about what's going on, but still kind of inconclusive. Like, it raises the question of why she apparently altered the memory instead of wiping it entirely, and I'm not sure I can explain it satisfactorily to myself.
I see what you're saying, and honestly those two things were also what gave me pause about this interpretation.
The way I explained it to myself was that the whole thing about Chroniko's memories being sold and then her talking about wanting to buy them back one day was Yuasa's way of putting in the viewer's head that, okay, those memories that are sold, it's possible to get them back. Which is what I think the mom ultimately did with her own memories. It makes sense that not only the mom, but also Chroniko would have to sell memories to get by. I can't explain the selfishness of the kids though.
I guess it doesn't make sense to me why the mom would just have Chroniko's memories lying around, and decide to inject them right after she sells off Chroniko's body. Unless she didn't buy back her own memories, but Chroniko's for her own use? But I don't know, with the progression of the mom in the show it seems like Yuasa wants us to start off hating her and viewing her as this evil stepmother, and by the end having a more sympathetic view of her, with her playing the piano and crying out. Warp's expression also changes from anger at the mom to more sadness at the situation. The cynical view to me also muddies the show's theme of class war, if she is just this abusive woman and has always been this abusive woman, then she's still selling Chroniko for economic reasons, but she also would hate Chroniko anyway and try to get rid of her because that's how she is. But I interpreted more as capitalism destroying human and family relationships - she's not an abusive woman because that's just who she is, she's an abusive woman due to living under capitalism, and the way Yuasa shows that is with these memories - she's been forced to sell her good memories under capitalism, transforming her into this abusive stepmother character and destroying the once good relationship she had with her daughter.
she’s not an abusive woman because that’s just who she is, she’s an abusive woman due to living under capitalism
Yeah, definitely agreed on that! Honestly, the kids can probably be explained similarly now that I think of it. Very reasonable to think of it as learned behavior from the only adult left in their lives and the society they're growing up in.
Heartbreaking episode, I don't have much to say about it -- but here we have our first explicit "gorging on food" scene. I didn't actually remember that there was one, so I guess I'll continue keeping an eye out.
I'll be continuing to post as a stream of thought written out during the episode. Here's the previous one.
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Tanks? Good start.
Oh they meant a "memory tank"
I want some shabo. What is Shabo anyway?
Selling your body is a lot like sex work and feels like it ties into the highly sexual scenes in the last episode.
This is real transhuman hours. We switched genders!
Evil step mom and step-sisters are such a trope haha
Joker: "You get what you deserve!"
She was nice but became an awful person after her husband died? That's a bit sadder I guess. I'm not sure how she survived the explosion though.
This is basically a flying segway.
OHH she has robot arms. I saw those on the washing line earlier and thought it was odd to have robot arms on a washing line but I guess that was show don't tell. Neat.
I still don't see the exact thing that made her want to sell this girl's body when they had a seemingly good relationship, hrrm, just bitter twisted and trying to get by? I guess that's what this society does to a person.
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I really liked this episode, it was very compelling and told a really understandable story compared to the previous ones. Beautiful and had good flow, a very leftist tale. I can see why you chose it for this rewatch.
Selling your body is a lot like sex work and feels like it ties into the highly sexual scenes in the last episode.
Hypersexuality and the male ego is a recurring theme in Yuasa's work. I believe it was that in your face in Tatami Galaxy as well.
I still don’t see the exact thing that made her want to sell this girl’s body when they had a seemingly good relationship, hrrm
That's not the vibe I was picking up from the mom. Chroniko probably viewed her positively because she didn't know any better, but that mother was incredibly abusive.
Ohhh I see. Chroniko's memories of her mother are completely distorted from the actual reality of her behaviour. That makes some sense, these are memory records and coloured by the perception of the person writing the memory. I hadn't even considered that would be the case here as I was treating it more as a factual flashback than a potentially warped memory.
I think this is one of the best episodes that Yuasa has ever directed. Everything about it is great. Sincerely one of the few episodes to make me me tear up in all of anime. Watching Chroniko's mom weep at her daughter's stolen memories nearly makes me bawl every time I watch it.
OHHHH that's what that was, playing a literaly memory record. That's a really interesting visualisation that didn't click for me but it's really nice.
