MARXIST ANIME LIST: Marxist Ideas in Anime Movies & TV Series
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- StarsLin QiangTu-Te-Ha-MengLin HuThe Leader centers on the life of German thinker Karl Marx, focusing on his political and economic theories, his romance with Jenny von Westphalen, and his friendship with Friedrich Engels.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T0a_jXHiDo
Chinese propaganda, is it good? Bad? IDK!
Is it even anime? - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiPazu's life changes when he meets Sheeta, a girl whom pirates are chasing for her crystal amulet, which has the potential to locate Laputa, a legendary castle floating in the sky.The idea of working class as life restoring power is motor of this story. Marxist Miyazaki at his best!
To acquire inspiration for the films environments Miyazaki twice visited Rhondda, Wales, right during and after the great coal mine strike. In an interview with Helen McCarthy in 1999 he explained how the struggle of the workers affected the film:
"I was in Wales right after the miners' strike. I admired the way the miners' union fought until the bitter end, for their workers' and communities' sake, and I wanted that the film would mirror the power of those communities." - StarsNoriko OharaSabrina PitreErin MathewsLong after a devastating war almost destroyed the entire world, a boy with superhuman strength fights to save his friends from those who seek to conquer what is left of civilization.Without a doubt, Conan has a Marxist bent. While it makes no attempt to defend the USSR’s own developmental urges, it alters the novel’s portrayal, in which High Harbor is the West’s successor while Industria is the Soviets’. Indeed, Industria in the anime represents not the sins of some supposed communism, but instead the faults of industrial society as a whole; there’s no indication, compared to the novel, of who began the war, but it didn’t matter much by the time the bombs dropped. Industria’s class structure, in which a great many workers are forced to slave away underground, all while the nation colonizes abroad in order to forcibly gather more resources and workers, is more reminiscent of the US than the USSR, but clearly, neither nation is meant to be viewed positively here.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsMikijirô HiraEtsuko IchiharaEijirô TônoA boy with a mythical sword wants to protect a Norse village from an evil ice wizard and his minions, who destroyed his family's village. However, the villagers don't fully trust him and a mysterious girl with a dark secret befriends him.The story was also inspired by the intention to address an adult audience, to reflect societal changes in contemporary Japan and to portray the socialist ideals in the portrayed village community, where the protagonists not only improve their own lot in a coming of age story but where their personal growth benefits society at large as well. The film shows a place where the people are able to shake off oppressive forces and derive pleasure from their communal efforts such as subsistence fishing.
- StarsKôji NakataThe adventurous story of a fugitive ninja.Kamui den (カムイ伝) is a manga series written and drawn by Sanpei Shirato. Set in feudal Japan, it tells the story of a low-born ninja who has fled his clan. The series combines historical adventure with social commentary and themes of oppression and rebellion that reflect Shirato's Marxist convictions.
The manga was adapted into an anime series - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYasuo YamadaGorô NayaKiyoshi KobayashiA big aerial battle occurs between Arsène Lupin III's gang and a gang of atomic-bomb-carrying pilots.Critique of Imperialism and arms business
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYasuo YamadaGorô NayaKiyoshi KobayashiAn armoured robot soars through the skies of Tokyo, demonstrating amazing capabilities that would make it a valuable weapon... then Arsène Lupin III demonstrates a more peaceful and beneficial use for the robot.Antimilitarist message
- DirectorKenji KamiyamaHiroyuki OkiuraStarsMichael DobsonYoshikazu FujikiSumi MutohA traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.In one low-key scene near the middle of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, our two protagonists are talking in a desolate pocket park. Kei, a former left wing revolutionary who has fallen in love with the male lead, a member of a ruthless paramilitary group, notices a crumpled heap of debris. It’s the remains of an old building. She asks him what used to stand there; what building used to occupy the empty space? He can’t remember, and she opines that, perhaps, they never noticed it in the first place, much less remembered it. In the midst of a vast construction boom, the film forces us to take notice of the wreckage and entropy left behind by “creative destruction.” It’s one of a handful of subtly profound moments that make the work of Mamoru Oshii worthy of attention.
- StarsAtsuko TanakaMiyuki SawashiroHaruka TomatsuCosette, daughter of the unfortunate Fantine, suffers under the cruel Thénardiers. Jean Valjean, a former convict disguised as Monsieur Madeleine, seeks redemption while Inspector Javert pursues him.Classical stuff <3
- CreatorTaku KishimotoGo ZappaStarsSôma SaitôAaron DismukeChiaki KobayashiWilliam James Moriarty lives as a regular noble while also being a consultant for the common folk to solve their problems. However, deep inside him lies a desire to destroy the current structure that dominates British society.class warfare
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.The story of a post-apocalyptic world being swallowed by a poisonous jungle was obviously inspired by the environmental disaster in Minamata.
The young female protagonist, the madness of war and nature that strikes back when it's threatened. - DirectorRintarôStarsToshio FurukawaScott WeingerYuka ImotoKenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban must find the mystery behind robot girl Tima.Fight against those upper classes!
- CreatorShôji KawamoriStarsMaggie Blue O'HaraMami HigashiyamaAlaina BurnettA fatally injured girl is saved in her near death experience to become the chosen defender of Earth.Green marxism meets Sailor Moon.
- DirectorYoshiharu AshinoAljosha KlimovMisha ShpritsStarsElena ChebaturkinaMikhail TikhonovDamir EldarovSet during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading German army. They are opposed by a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross and enlist them in the Nazi cause.World War II on the Eastern Front (autumn and winter of 1941/1942). Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading German army.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiKôji SawaiStarsToshio FurukawaDavid JarvisDoug ErholtzThe screwball cops of Special Vehicles Section 2 Division 2 must investigate and stop a spree of rampaging construction robots.The Labor as machine is a perfect example of Marx's idea of the alienation of the wrokerfrom that which is produced.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsShinchô KokonteiMakoto NonomuraYuriko IshidaA community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.Basically the story of how the liberal movements in post-war Japan failed, according to Miyazaki.
- StarsMasako NozawaJôji YanamiBrice ArmstrongSon Gokû, a fighter with a monkey tail, goes on a quest with an assortment of odd characters in search of the Dragon Balls, a set of crystals that can give its bearer anything they desire.DBZ is literally about a peasant kid rising up against a galactic landlord who is confirmed to be based on predatory real estate sharks
- StarsTeruhiko AoiShunsuke ShimaAkira ShimadaJoe, a teenage orphan living in the slums of the Doya streets, meets Danpei, a homeless alcoholic and former boxing trainer. Danpei, seeing Joe's talent for boxing, decides to train him."Tomorrow's Joe" is a young boxer fighting against all odds, while the protagonist of Star of the Giants, also popular among activists, is a young baseball player; both are youths from impoverished backgrounds who undergo intense spiritual and physical training in order to win glory by triumphing over rich-kid rivals. Although these characters did strive for upward mobility, the rigorous asceticism emphasized in the manga recalled an ethics of self-restraint that was vanishing from Japan at the time, and the opponents toppled were from the bourgeoisie.
- CreatorSampei ShiratoStarsMidori KatôKiyoshi KomiyamaKazuko YoshikawaFujimaru is a young Ninja with mystical abilities. He seeks to prevent his enemy Japusai from obtaining a parchment that would greatly enhance his powers.Author of story was Sanpei Shirato. Sanpei — trying to live up to his father, a fine arts painter raising a son in tumultuous waters of left-wing politics and Marxist movements. (take a minute to Google some of this socio-political stuff if you want, I had to…) Somehow Sanpei comes out of it doing kamishibai performance art then manga and anime, replacing the marching proletariat with masked ninja.
- CreatorIkki KajiwaraNoboru KawasakiStarsTôru FuruyaSeizô KatôFuyumi ShiraishiHyuma Hoshi, is a big baseball pitcher with a bright future, who wants to be a top pitcher like his father."Tomorrow's Joe" is a young boxer fighting against all odds, while the protagonist of Star of the Giants, also popular among activists, is a young baseball player; both are youths from impoverished backgrounds who undergo intense spiritual and physical training in order to win glory by triumphing over rich-kid rivals. Although these characters did strive for upward mobility, the rigorous asceticism emphasized in the manga recalled an ethics of self-restraint that was vanishing from Japan at the time, and the opponents toppled were from the bourgeoisie. Significantly, both characters continue their strenuous training even after achieving higher social status, pushing onward until their bodies are utterly broken, as if punishing themselves for betraying their roots through social mobility. This ethic appealed to the moralistic tendencies of the student activists, who spurned material accumulation and cherished to the end the ideal of endless self-negation.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.WAR IS HELL
- StarsMegumi HanErica MendezAlexis NicholsAkko enrolls at the Luna Nova Witchcraft Academy. She's not the best student, but her bright attitude is the key to her and her friends' success.Comrade Akko and her solidarity with the oppressed faerie workers!
- DirectorShinji TakagiKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsAnna PaquinPatrick StewartAlfred MolinaIn 1860s Britain, a boy inventor finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power.In a sense its about how property holds back technological development. The British Imperial Government gets involved, and at first it seems noble compared to the O'Hara mega company, but it becomes clear that they wish to get a hold of the steam technology to develop their own weapons programs and prevent O'Hara from selling weapons to its Imperial rivals.
So neither government or capital come out of this film looking very good, they're both self interested and hypocritical. There's a battle scene between the police and a private security army, highlighting the similarities.
Our hero is a working class lad from Manchester and his inventor Grandad whom wanted to build a new society using the nearly unlimited energy of this new invention he largely pioneered. Its animation is beautiful, it has a very steam punk look, with tanks and fighter planes as they might have looked in the 1860s. It did get some criticism from purists because it was an early adopter of Computer Graphic animation, but it blends with the traditional animations pretty well in my opinion.
If you can, I'd recommend watching the English dub, the dialogue is full of nineteenth century colloquialism's and the cast even manage to pull off Mancunian accents. - DirectorHiroyuki YamagaSteve ZuckermanStarsLeo MorimotoDavid ThomasMitsuki YayoiIn an alternative Earth, a young astronaut participates in a controversial fledgling space program.Wings is a lot like Steamboy, its about an attempt to put a man into space. Its like Yuri Gagarin the anime. It set in a world that isn't really earth, they're all humans but the nations and history and cultures are very different.
The space agency is incredibly underfunded, and the only way for them to get some support from their government to get a rocket ship and capsule built and ready for launch is to highlight its potential military capabilities. They're all dedicated to space exploration and have no interest in war but they're desperate for funds. One drawback is that a hostile nation now views the program as a threat and tensions between the two nations increase.
Again naked greed and self interest from the powerful actively impedes scientific progress and discovery. It ends with Lhadatt the cosmonaut getting into space and reflecting and praying for humanity to improve itself.
And unfortunately I'm not doing it much justice, its very beautiful in both its looks and its music and sound design. - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.In 1997 the epic fantasy film Princess Mononoke was released, depicting the conflict between the human's in the Irontown and the spirits of the woods. The film distinguishes itself with its moral complexity. Irontown's leader Lady Eboshi wants to extract the resources of the forest, but she isn't driven by greed or a thirst for violence like the opponents in Nausicaä or Castle in the Sky. Instead her goal is to make Irontown into a sanctuary for the outcasts of society.