UlasanAnime.com – The anime series GATE, much like a recent Clickhole article on Bernie Sanders, delves into political territory, a facet that forms the core of the author’s critique. While it would be an oversimplification to dismiss GATE as merely a power fantasy where Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) excel, the series unfortunately offers little depth in terms of thematic exploration, presenting instead a rather straightforward wish-fulfillment scenario.
This particular brand of wishful thinking unfortunately echoes sentiments that Japan’s Asian neighbors find deeply troubling, given Japan’s historical actions during World War II. For instance, the experience of Taiwan, which endured approximately 40 years as a Japanese “model colony,” offers a stark counterpoint. The author concedes that Japan might have excelled as a colonial power compared to many European nations of that era, a sentiment that perhaps aligns with the SDF’s actions in the anime, seemingly rescuing hapless farmers and tribals. However, this perspective misses a crucial point.
What GATE lacks are the essential elements that would temper its fantasy. This includes acknowledging the problematic nature of colonialism, the inhumane realities of installing puppet governments, or even the ethical implications of such actions, much like the missing context in the Bernie Sanders article regarding the support of dictatorial regimes. While recent films have explored similar themes of establishing puppet governments, it appears that a segment of Japan’s public may not have fully grasped the ramifications of colonialism. Perhaps the post-war generation, engrossed in economic reconstruction, failed to adequately educate subsequent generations about international politics, the shift from direct colonization to propped-up dictators serving national interests, and the realities of proxy wars like the one in Syria.
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The question of whether it’s acceptable to “pick up girls in a dungeon” highlights a discrepancy between dangerous activities and their sanitized, trope-driven portrayals in anime. Similarly, one might question whether it’s acceptable for the SDF to establish a puppet government in another world. In GATE, the anime explicitly answers the former question with a resounding “yes,” and it strongly implies a similar affirmative response to the latter.
With the USA currently in its election season, the author follows the primaries with mild interest, acknowledging a lack of expertise beyond what is readily available in the news. However, anyone with a background in political history can discern the deeply flawed and regressive ideas underpinning GATE. Despite this, the series remains enjoyable to watch, prompting the question of why enjoyable anime are sometimes burdened with problematic themes and politics, much like the age-old query of why bad things happen to good people.
The author humorously notes the lack of viewership for the anime “Haruchika.”
What personally irks the author most about GATE is that the SDF never confronts an adversary of comparable strength. While shows like “Overlord” effectively explore the power disparity between the protagonist and their enemies, GATE portrays the SDF as merely a representation of Japan’s military might, serving its self-interests in a manner reminiscent of its World War II ambitions. This is achieved by pitting the SDF against individuals armed with little more than horses and spears. While opinions may diverge on this aspect, those who recognize the political context might accuse the former viewpoint of being obtuse. GATE, with the exception of the arguably unrealistic onsen episode, rarely depicts a world with more than two nations. Its narrative simplicity is, in the author’s view, akin to infantile, garden-variety fanfiction, not far removed from seeing a character like Tanechan exhibiting suggestive behavior simply because the script dictates it.
The author expresses understanding for this approach, acknowledging the complexity of Japan’s SDF, its global standing, its relationships with China and Korea, and the role of the United States. This is further compounded by Japan’s post-World War II “trauma,” its predominantly pacifist stance, and the internal political conflicts within the nation.
Perhaps the author would have enjoyed GATE more if it hadn’t focused on the SDF, whose primary means of engagement tend to be “militaristic violence” rather than more nuanced tactics like subterfuge or political maneuvering. The inclusion of a fictional Japanese intelligence agency, for instance, could have presented a more compelling challenge. The narrative lays the groundwork for such possibilities, but ultimately opts for a more straightforward approach, characteristic of a “grunt-level guy’s” fantasy.
This, the author suggests, is not entirely without precedent. In the United States, there are individuals who engage in similarly misguided fantasies. However, the most concerning aspect is the ignorance of those who fail to recognize the detrimental nature of such fantasies.
