It's crazy how this anime came out in the late 70s but is especially relevant in modern day Japan with how their society is run, some stories just age incredibly well and Harlock is an excellent example of this, it's something that's incredible to witness and watch
Conformity is the elephant in the room of so much of what drives so many anime stories. It's nice to see that art that swims against that torrent gets time to shine as well.
@@jessh4016 Ultimately humans are not ants nor robots. Humans are comprised of individual entities each unique. Even if you support "collectivism" you have to justify it using reality, and reality dictates that you start from the bottom up. Good luck.
one thing to know about yamato is while the anime lacks matsumoto's finer moral details that are found in harlock, the manga actually reflects what you spoke about in it's later chapters where the earth bares little respect for the feelings of its heroes and their sacrifices, forcing the yamato crew to reunite and steal their beloved ship from the disassembly line to sail through space with their own goals. also harlock appears in the manga's first half where he is the only human aboard the Acadia albeit with cybernetics keeping him alive from grave injuries, which leads the yamato crew to believe he is susume's older brother who barely survived but since the bridge in drenched in shadows, we can't tell for certain. okita leaves harlock with one last message as a comrade "STAY ALIVE"
Trying to get fine details on the screen is... difficult. Not the least because you have a maximum resolution of 640x480, interlaced, at 24 FPS. And a limited time, and budget, and runtime. And the fact that an animated TV show, and indeed a combat effective ship, are a team effort. It plays as a big team thing, but no one there is being pressured into being part of the team, they all signed on with that dream.
I love Harlock. That constant, desolate wind howl or spaceship hum, long, solemn pauses to reflect. It really formed my mood at 6 years old back in the 80s.
Great video. Harlock means a lot to me, and I think you may have touched on something I have never been able to put words to. He encourages us to be the most genuine version of ourselves, and in that honesty, we can find our own way in the world.
I found SBY as a preteen around 2009 and really got into it, but never got around to watching Harlock for some reason. Knowing your takehome from the franchise that you commented being a mindset I wish I'd learned a decade ago is hilarious. If God is my witness I will get around to watching the show before the year's out!
"Imagine if the man who gave his body and soul to protect his commander was now telling his crew to die for no one but themselves," You mean the Boss from MGS3? The anti-militarist? That sounds sick as hell.
in terms of Harlock is that an antagonist or protagonist? I agree though it is sick as hell and many people tend to do it because their morals can change on aesthetic and it does not matter over what, some of these are very simple like accepting someone over the money they give you bur rejecting someone over the money they lack, their the conflict is over obtaining true love and/or making someone understand the reality of their actions, another example which would be "authority" figures who set up stings and at times honey trap others, sending people to cells or schools for technicalities or specific needs that don't come at the price of anyone but the more arrested brings in more pay and others aren't allowed to be "heroes" because they just don't happen to have a badge. These types of people can be in just about anywhere and anyone can be like them but its best not to as then it becomes more of a dog eats dog world. In "true classic superhero tales', dramas, and so on, these things and topics tend to be central antagonist or at the very least present drastically, 4 examples of this are the stories of Batman, Kamen Rider/Masked Rider, Godzilla, and Astro Boy.
Given that Leiji Matsumoto passed away a week ago, it seems like a good time to visit what made him tick and this has been a very good glimpse. I was attracted to Harlock, but didn't entirely know why. So I thank you for helping me to unlock that.
Saw it for the first time back in 1979, when it aired for the first time. In Italy, Captain Harlock is legendary. From the italian opening : "Il suo teschio è una bandiera che vuol dire libertà". "His skull is a flag that means freedom".
I think one stumbling block this essay has is that, in trying to paint Harlock as the Anti-Spokon, it kinda ignores the BIG thing both philosophies agree on: they're both anti-stagnation. The self-improvement for the betterment of the team promoted by Spokon is as against stagnation as Harlock's stubborn pursuit of individualistic passions. The opposition therein is WHY the two are anti-stagnation. For Spokon, it's because stagnation is detrimental to the health of the nation/sports team/pirate crew/military unit/shared dream/*insert collective here* while for Harlock stagnation was detrimental to the health of the INDIVIDUAL first and foremost.
maybe this is what it says on the tin, but I think you can strongly argue that spokon as a genre is much more useful as a tool to promote things that reinforce the status quo.
i think it's also important to point out that there are many different kinds of stagnation. there is stagnation in the sense of production, in the sense of a loss of populace or might or some sort of general concept that affects the whole nation, and then there is stagnation of the individual, of the social, of their personal understanding of the world, of that which they care about deep in their heart. i think it would be fair to argue that the spokon genre only fights the first kind, while allowing the second to flourish, since conformity encourages you not to challenge yourself socially and to change your interests to mold to the status quo, while capitan harlock seems to encourage you to fight the latter, leaving the health of the wider society by the wayside should it interfere with who you are and what you wish to become.
As it is right now for Japan, we do suffer from the more abusive part of the "sports konjou" the conformity is really stagnating the hearts and minds of people here down into a spiral of abuse, tbh. So from my point of view, sports konjou doesn't really touch all that much on anti-stagnation. It's only really repeating things that we already know about nakama and guts. Or in other words, unpaid overtime until you die from overwork stress because the company is your family, your nakama. It's getting better as people are starting to gain a bit more individuality and the courage to say no
@@ComicalConqueror Yes, says on the tin. And quite a few of these manga and anime is really good at selling what's on the tin. Or are you gonna tell me that Dragon Ball is NOT about self-improvement and never settling for less than your best because it has elements of Spokon and is thus icky icky bad bad conformity propaganda so let's ignore the actual text in favor of the imagined subtext?
Harlock will always hold a special place in my heart, along with Galaxy Express 999. It's vision of the future may have always felt a bit exaggerated, and its love of grand drama may not appeal to everyone, but it's part of what gave it charm to me
Today the World as presented in Harlock doesn't even seem that exaggerated. Like, today we have the football world cup playing out in stadiums that cost thousands of lives to build. Thousands of people died to fuel the entertainment of the masses. It doesn't get much more dystopian than that.
@@jeffumbach honestly yeah, we might as well have given these workers swords and spears and make them fight for our entertainment. Survival rate would probably have been higher.
That's truly so incredibly retarded that I can't even believe you are comparing a dystopian world that exists for self pleasure to ONE country that skipped safety regulations to get money from a company and their competence. Which is an entirely different political issue. You could have said the rise on loneliness, only fans, tinder, social media. Anything. And you chose the most unrelated and misunderstood topic that you could ever think of.
I remember trying to watch Capt. Harlo0ck on our local French channel back in the early 80s, where it was renamed "Alabator' (all together now, "Albaaaaa-tor! Albaaaaa-tor...!"). The problems were that, one, my French stunk even back then when I was "learning" it, and they aired the episodes out-of-sequence. As much as Crunchyroll gets on my nerves, I appreciate being able to FINALLY watch the complete series there. R.I.P Makio Inoue.
I found my love for Harlock in my teens, after hunting the anime down once I saw the 3D Adaptation and deciding that skull ship with lasers is cool. Seeing it so early in my life made the lessons Harlock taught me part of the foundation for my adult life. I’m glad you made this, and hope more people go watch the show.
yo that movie is hella epic. Its got an almost totally diferent overall message from the anime; but harlock himself still holds the same values. thats how i ended up watching the anime as well
This is the video I have been waiting decades for. I have always loved Harlock so much, but found him baffling. Now everything I have seen him say, do , and sometimes more importantly *not* do makes sense! Thank you MercuryFalcon!
Interesting analysis. Ive watched this anime some years ago, and its one of my favourites from 70s decade. And one of the things that made me like the anime was that one of the crew members was a geek who loved building models, basically me back then lol
Yattaran is one of the best characters and embodies the message perfectly, he's not vital to the crew at first glance, but his knowledge and love of reduced models saved the Arcadia and everyone on board more than once
I never missed this show back in the 80's, when I was a child. It was one of the first anime I ever watched, but the deeper meaning escaped me back then. There was deep sentiment of melancholy on the series that I really liked. The way the story was told was so different from any and all american cartoons. That was what really defined what anime is to me. Your essay is great as usual, thank you!
glad to see someone bringing up nishizaki's role and importance behind yamato. so many people misattribute yamato's nationalist themes to matsumoto but that was all nishizaki, especially once you get to the second movie and its ending.
Yamato's journey to Iscandar reminds me of the Japanese submarine missions to Germany to bring back technology that could stop the bombings over Japan. I love the show, but it's like a revisionist's nationalistic fan-fiction
I, too, love M.D. Geist. He can't stop. He's just a soldier. He was commander of Special Maneuvering Force and had the super mundane fighting ability by virtue of the specific biological cloning technology. It doesn't get much cooler than that.
When asked why he activated the Death Force after fighting so hard to get into the control center to deactivate it, M.D. Geist's only words were, "NG+ yo" And that is why he is the greatest.
I think I love the songs more than I love M.D. Geist x3 It's a fun bloody mess and certainly, special. But frankly, I'm more for the other movie that came with the "Mecha Masters" DVD box, namely GenoCyber. Of course the amount of violent depictions in that one is disturbing to say the least. Also let's not forget, *CYBERNETICS GUARDIAN CYGUARD* Holy shit that album kicks so much ass! 80's *JAPANESE* Trash Heavy Metal, and this Cyguard is so metal *IT PULLS A BATTLE AXE OUT OF IT'S GLAM ROCK HAIR!* :DDDD
The fact that Japan operates as a collectivist society doesn't mean that all Japanese are happy with this. Many are not. But they don't dare break ranks, because of how those who do are treated in Japan. It is sad really.
Why I like blue lock sports anime it goes against the Japanese collectivism mentality where being the best trumps being a mere cog in a machine like team.
Sorry Pacific Rim fan here. During development the producers constantly argued with Guillermo on certain aspects of the film, one of them being the Jeager design. They didn't like the 2-pilot system & wanted to change it, but Guillermo stressed that it was essential for the science behind the mechs & for the pilots to work as a team to fight against the Kaiju. Guillermo also loved the idea of different countries building their own Jeagers because he felt that symbolically; its not just one person or nation fighting to save the world, its the world working together to save itself. Guillermo was huge fan of mecha anime & defiantly knew what he was doing. He wanted to make something that paid homage to the classic anime he watched & create something that Western & Eastern fans of the genre would appreciate. But scummy corporate interest got in the way & we ended up with the shit stain that is Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Lots of modern manga/anime, particularly the battle shonen, owe a lot of 60s/70s sports manga/anime. From a superficial level with the idea of tournament arcs and training arcs but on a deeper level with the "feel" of getting stronger to beat impossible odds like you mentioned in the video.
It's pretty funny how much different the manga version of Getter Robo became in comparison to the original tv shows with the end result of humanity eventually merging with Getter energy and becoming the enemy of the entire universe.
The concept of Getter Rays merging with Humanity turns out to be more utterly relevant than ever before because we are the ultimate destroyers of our world.
This was a wonderful analysis, among all TH-camrs who talk about anime I feel you're among those who really knows and understands the themes of each work and makes great retrospectives and analysis. It's amazing how Harlock is still being referenced to this day, I'd say even more than Yamato, at least outside of Japan
This was an excellent video. You pretty much nailed the appeal of the original Harlock and why so many adaptations after the TV series miss the mark of his so often. The Lupin comparison is fairly amped because they both Harlock and Lupin were popular back then despite them being against the norm of what was expected of anime back then.
I'd love to see modern animes talking more about individualism, it's almost a crime to see how much the Japanese culture forces people to be accepted by the "collective" and be equal so everybody. Their high suicide rates can the traced to that in a lot of cases and it fuels their bullying situation.
Whereas Western media emphasizes "individualism" while fostering the exact same attitudes of hard work, competitiveness, and unquestioning obedience towards authority and "common sense" (i.e. group consensus)
@@algorithmgeneratedanimegir1286 what is regarded as "common sense" does indeed change with cultural shifts, which is why many are familiar with older generations referring to the younger generations as lacking common sense. Group consensus (as the medias and educational systems would have you believe) these days is comprised of many social dos, don'ts and ideologies which take priority over many things common sense once dictated. Here's a damning example of this truth: common sense of yesterday- men can't have babies. Fit that in the equation of today's belief systems. Now, "intuition" is arguably the result of a sort of auto-response mental suggestion cumulative of what is understood as precedent (truthful/factual or not) and what is observed during a situation or event, basically an assumption generated by the subconscious. Intuition is not always correct and the batting averages varies individual to individual. Now, how one regards this "suggestion" (supernatural, instinctual etc.) is another story altogether, but inarguably this suggestion this intuition is going to be largely based on individual knowledge, no arguing this as 2 individuals can report with conflicting intuition, undoubtedly group consensus/societal etiquette is a heavy inluencer on intuition and common sense.
@@MCArt25 That's because in the west, "individualism" is used to represent a political stance, which by nature of being political must necessarily be a collectivist notion.
This video basically explained why Captain Harlock appeals to me, much like Emeraldas does. I've become so disenfranchised with the system, and over time realized that it wasen't broken, *It was working as intended.* If I were able I'd probably take the path they took. I rather be free than live in the illusion of it.
Not sure why I'm all of a sudden seeing more videos about the Lleijiverse and other older anime, but it warms my old heart to see these classics get some modern day love.
Captain Harlock and Star Trek captains were sadly the source of most of my fatherly inspiration, ESPECIALLY Harlock's speech in Galaxy Express 999 about taking risks.
Thanks for making this video. After watching the anime (which is very well made for it's time) I've wanted to get an idea of what the creator of the show was trying to do here. And for a while I thought the creator of Captain Harlock. Was trying to send some kind of message of manhood to the audience. It's nice to get what feels like some closure about this series.
One of the disappointing things about the 40k board game is that you can't have an army of ragtag wierdos of all shapes and sizes. Like, even the Tau who are supposed to be a multispecies coalition have units that all look almost identical. I've fantasized of having pilot minis in mechs that look like Lieji Matsumoto characters. I definitely think GW should have a board game where you are some kind of space pirate/trader and your crew consists of an assortment of funny characters of your choice.
Harlock is Greta because it doesn't see individualism as opposed to collective action. The bond of the crew in his ship is important throughout the series and they dedicate themselves for each other, but none of that is done though some blind nationalism, but because they know that only together they can avhieve their individual goals. This is an important lesson that I think kids should really have, so they know to look for groups that help their quirks shine instead of having to control them
Humanities true potential is only achieved through contradictory means. When every individual fights for the collective, and when the collective fights for every individual. When the individual sees the collective as just a means of profit, or the collective sees the individual as disposable, it leads to the decay of human progress and power.
At the end of "Black Hawk Down", a Delta force soldier tries to explain to a Ranger why they do what they do. "...they don't get it; it's about the guy next to you". I've no problem with nationalism; it's an extension of tribalism, which is our true nature, like all the primates. But, true tribalism differs from socialism in that each individual member of the tribe matters to every other member the tribe. That's the failing of huge nations; a tribe must be relatively small to have that bond. The tv series "Firefly" reflects this. It's epitomized in an exchange between Simon and Mal: Simon: "you don't even like me; so why'd you come for us?" Mal: "You're on my crew; why are we still discussing this?" They're all on his ship for different reasons, yet they come to bond as a tribe for each other. Even the ones they don't like. I'm starting to suspect a lot of "Firefly" was cribbed from "Captain Harlock".
Harlock is in Matsumoto´s rushed first manga adaptation of Yamato. The site Our Starblazers goes into which version did what in exhaustive detail. Rintaro´s The Endless Odyssey OVAs might be my favorite version of this. I tried them all and failed to warm to any of them or even Leiji Matsumoto and his manga but what a trailblazer. His works are now highly dated relics of the past but he 100% pushed the industry forward.
Hard disagree on it being dated. I argue that anime's storytelling just became really nihilistic for a long time. You'll see a resurgence in the relevance of these more operatic works as time goes on. People are starved for an ounce of meaning.
@@Leijiverse I am more critical of his manga work than the anime adaptations. It's a chore to get though. The best Harlock manga is the Dimensional Voyage remake and he didn´t draw it.
They really portrayed Harlock very well in the game Super Robot Wars T. The final attack that has him firing an attack with all the ship weaponry only to finish with his saber is so well done And hey you can have Harlock fight alongside the Shin Getter Robo!
this is one of the best videos i've ever seen - you're an amazing presenter and host ! it's a great atmosphere, & even with the comfy pacing, you've got ample and burning Spokon (and personal passion) yourself ! thanks for sharing your unique knowledge and perspective
I remember picking this up on dvd in what I would eventually find out to be the Discotek media booth a few years ago at Anime Expo. I had no idea what I was in for, but when I finished this with my sister it was one of my favorite animes I've watched.
I often think this series was much better than a lot of people give it credit for, if not just for the narrative it writes. I had no idea it was the icon of subtle counterculture it was. thanks for the insightful vid!
Excellent upload; I am curious is there a way to parse the development of Yamato’s two conflicting creators over the series run? Because I feel the show itself gradually comes to odds with that nationalistic intention (such as once the Yamato effectively destroys Garmilas, Kodai has an emotional break down over the entire idea of “we’re raised to get better than others and to win” with the addendum of “so what happens to the ones that lose?? Do they not deserve happiness??”), plus how the themes of Yamato shifted over the series existence.
I watched Captain Harlock as a child of 5 or 6. I didn't understand any of the concepts very well or what was going on, except the fight for what you believe in. I loved it. I have since watched it as an adult and it felt so different to other anime, in a way more realistic and at the same time more fantasy. A friend learned that Captain Harlock is my favorite hero from all of animedom so they made me a painting. It hangs on my wall where everyone sees it as they enter. Thanks for this essay video. Love it.
Great video, I don't know how long it takes you to make these but, keep it up. It's this type of work that makes me think about life and my own personal philosophy on how one should live.
Reminds me of an analysis of My Hero Acadamia I watched tears back, pointing out how it glorified individuality as well. I can’t help but see it as a synthesis between Harlock’s themes and spokon. They improve themselves, and have incredibly different visual styles and techniques. They work individually and as a team. Both attitudes have their appropriate time and place.
Cannot stress enough how the spokon aspect of Getter Robo only exists in the Toei anime. In the original manga, Hayato and Ryoma are fucking homicidal psychopaths that couldn't give less of a fuck about soccer lmao
Spokon encourages duty and conformity Harlock encourages individuality and following your own dreams And then there's me, stuck in the middle, with neither the ability to conform to society or any real desires or ambitions of my own.
@@satansjihad6353 Max Stirner and other proto-existentialist authors are nice and everything, but they're not going to give anybody a road map on where to find a reason to live. What you should recommend instead is for OP to explore more art, try to find deeply fulfilling relationships with people, and learn more about things which interest them in the moment. If you spend enough time doing those things, you'll eventually figure out what you want to struggle for.
I don't know about the "conformity" bit, while it's true in some animes, it's not like the shared dream isn't rebelling against something, thus One Piece and Marine/ world government or even in a game like Persona 5.
@@UmTois Those are exceptions, though, not the rule. One Piece's contemporary series and competitor Naruto is very overtly in favor of conformity and placing society over the individual.
Harlock is the intellectualism anime needed. Thank goodness he became the mainstream animated show in french-speaking parts of the world, with a brand new amazing soundtrack with that.
So HARLOCK is where I got my belief in artists from. I don’t care if those who create share my vision or see things as I do. I want them to embrace their passion, add their touches to my work and visa versa. Passion drives growth and passion can only thrive when tested.
I'd seen the character before, but I never knew what it was from. I do think emphasizing either collectivism or individualism too much leads to problems. Stagnation and loss of self in the former, and narcissism and nihilism in the latter. Both can lead to burnout. Running yourself ragged for others, or wearing yourself out because you are too proud to ask for help.
aw I am so happy to see this! I was introduced to Captain Harlock rather recently and it's now become one of my most favourite series thus far! So happy to see a video like this especially now when it feels like it's pretty obscure :'''''D Thank you.
This was a genuinely great and inspirational video. I stumbled on it randomly and as someone relatively new to anime and manga, it really is great when i find videos about retro anime. The themes of individuality versus social homogeneity and conformity really resonate with me too and as a Nigerian, i like how the Captain Harlock anime emohasizes this but also shows how a healthy balance should be struck between the two points.
Harlock serves as the personification of the balance between individualism and cooperation. Each member of his crew is an individual, bringing with them not only their own passions, but their own strengths and talents as well. Yet, they are a crew - they all serve the Arcadia, its captain, and each other out of mutual respect, contributing their individual strengths toward the mission's success, with the understanding that that corporate success is but a stepping stone toward each of their individual goals. In his writings to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul speaks of the church being one body, made of many parts. He compares the church to the human body, reminding his audience how each part of the body is designed with a specific function to perform a particular task; yet all these serve the ultimate goal of maintaining the body's own health and well-being, while simultaneously allowing the body to interact meaningfully with the world around itself. A truly functioning society is similar; we don't all do the same thing, because we're not all the same person. Yet, each of us wants something, and each of us understands we can get that something if we help enough other people get the things they're after. While our paths and goals may be diverse and disparite, our pursuit of them can still ultimately contribute to mutual success. We do not need to be in conflict with each other to get what we want - on the contrary, if we are willing to help others, we will often find the help we ourselves need. Harlock embodies the radical notion that mutuality does not need to devolve into conformity. That one can be fully themselves, yet still be exactly what the rest of the world needs them to be. That we don't have to sacrifice our dignity for the sake of the status quo - on the contrary, our individual passions, and our pursuit thereof, can actually improve our situation, both as individuals and as a society. Law should not burden us or keep us from our passions, but direct us and give us the framework by which those passions may not only be achieved, but achieved in the most constructive and profitable way possible. He also exposes the real selfishness of conformity - by keeping your head down and doing as you're told, you might guarantee your own survival, but you do so at the cost of never achieving your full potential, and moreover, denying the benefits of that potential to the rest of society. The conformist effectively sells his soul for a crust of bread, enjoying neither the freedom to pursue his goal, nor the riches that come with reaching it. Even as I write this, I find myself convicted, knowing that I have sacrificed many of my own dreams on the altar of survival. Harlock's philosophy can perhaps be summarized thus - Don't just survive. LIVE.
In Latter iterations of Space Battleship Yamato they included more of the Harlock mentality. But it is just because we have a common goal it doesn't mean we sacrifice ourselves to it. 2199 especially does this with how the crew interact.
It's not often that my views evolve while watching this kind of video... but having seen through to the end, I'm now interested in seeing the original Captain Harlock animes, that came before the movie, in their entirety. I don't care who makes them, any story that promotes individualism (respect for the innate value of the individual) is worth my time.
The Getter Robo pilots in the manga was quite different from the ones in the anime. Ryoma (the leader) was a badass karate user and Hayato led a band of delinquent school revolutionaries. Musashi (and later, Benkei) were consistent between anime and manga, though - Musashi was a judo practitioner and Benkei was a baseball player, who even wore catcher's gear when he piloted.
@@algorithmgeneratedanimegir1286 i guess so, i see people use their service, a badge, or the practice of the usage of a form of combat or weapon as they glorify their ability to put others down usually through morals that change on aesthetic and based on a consensus that ever so often makes it seem like its a dog eat dog world regardless of over what the topic is and if the action verbal or physical be done to cause such pain is normalized or not.
I would gladly be a cool free individual who, nevertheless, lives in a society, and sometimes has to serve it (without dying for the glory of the emperor).
10:10 Maybe it was the subs i used, but i remember Mamoru dying a pointless death by attacking the enemy when he could have scaped as he was ordered to. Personally i didn't liked how not only he survived but somehow was on Iscandar at the end of the whole thing. Now i haven't seen Harlock yet but you have convinced me i should get to it ASAP. So far of all Leiji Matsumoto stuff i have only watched GE999 and the first Yamato season.
Fun little side note.. both members of Daft Punk are huge Captain Harlock fans and in the Weeknd’s video for I Fell It a coming they are both dressed just like him.
I was kinda poor growing up, so we didn't have cable. We had "peasant-vision": three channels, and a fourth if you adjusted the antenna to get the fuzzy French channel. The only Anime we had were on either CBC or the French channel. Astro Boy, Ulysses 31, Robotech, and Captain Harlock. To this day I have never seen an episode of Ulysses 31 in English, just in French, and I still love that combination gun sword that no one else ever did as cool... not even the Power Rangers. This being the case, 90% of my love of Captain Harlock comes from it being played in French on a staticky station that would sometimes come in just right. I've seen some of the remakes, and Galaxy Express 999, even enjoyed them, but I still remember rushing home after school to see if we could catch some of Captain Harlock, even when I wasn't sure what was actually going on.
LMAO The I saw the Wiki entry I paused and read it expecting something horrible. When I finished reading I unpaused and said "he sounds extremely based" exactly at the same time you did.
To be honest, I'm kind of surprised Captain Harlock became as well loved as it is. Don't get me wrong, the show even without the underlying themes is really interesting and certainly worth a watch but given Japan's mindset always seemed to be about national pride and "spoken" that I'm surprised they allowed a show like Harlock to air given that the themes seem to run counterproductive to what Japanese was touting at the time.
Great video. I’m familiar with ‘guts!’ As a driving force in anime but I don’t think I ever read how specific sports were to that. Or at the very least that term. I think you may have missed something about Harlock, the crew and the…. Hm, ship’s contract? Yes, come on board if you will fight for what you believe in, but it seems unspoken that your personal beliefs still must be sidelined for the welfare of the ship and your comrades. How many times did Tadashi want to just kill every Mazone without hesitation and Harlock said “No. we need…”? Do as you like but pull together in battle. The thing is, to many of that sounds like contradiction but I don’t think it is. Good that you brought Nishizaki into the mix. Yamato was clearly his idea and project. He just wasn’t getting any traction until he brought Matsumoto on board and I am convinced that Matsumoto’s designs along with the work of Studio Nue (in its earliest form) that sold the show. I liken it to when George Lucas had Ralph Mcquarrie (sp?) crank out some art that got everyone fired up. And don’t forget the other key player in Yamato. Ishiguro. He tied it all together.
Damn, it really shows how context of the time of release can fundamentally change how you intetpret the story. Reminds me of the Shin Godzilla debacle.
@@lkcdarzadix6216 People who went, expecting a typical monster bash movie, were surprised by the tone, all of the government talks and seemingly lack of a concrete main protagonist. But with knowing the context - that it was released after the Fukushima disaster and as a response to it- you realize the "protagonist" is Japan as a whole and the movie is a commentary on how the JP government's way of doing things is flawed, especially in a crisis situation.
@@elpizo1789 I took people's criticism of it in the west was very philistine. I took note also "true classic superhero tales" tend to have ever so philistine opponents in the story and even in real life. They basically fight the halo and horns effect constantly because they fight for what is truly right regardless of the topic, like that one book where Spider-Man tells this boy to instead be with this girl who loves him for who he is and stand up to the other girl who rejects and accepts him for shallow reasons but calls him creep for his shyness.
7:50 Apparently Battle ship Yamato was one of the inspirations for several Star Trek chapters and movies. It just crossed my mind how the uniforms serve as a way to tell you if crew men is from engineering, a comanding officer, a scientist or medical staff and so on, an interesting feed back between two franchises. Another curious fact is that ships called Yamato in star trek always tend to be destroyed in action for some reason or another, at least is always portrayer in a dignified way like being destroyed in heroic action, other times its destrution is an excuse to start a chapter about a mistery investigation, which leads to reveal an unknown enemy or a really dangerous anomaly, always thanks to the heroic sacrifice of the Yamato and its crew. :V
Eh... Star Trek was -- and is -- incredibly obscure in Japan. If you ask them about it, they think you're talking about Star Wars -- which was never quite a craze there either. They don't even have anything **like** star trek. For a while I speculated wildly about some sort of Yamamoto/Star Trek connection because Yamamoto had a warp drive. But that term was apparently invented by John W Campbell in his 57 novel "Islands in Space". Which led me down an entirely unexpected rabbithole. They didn't have Western science fiction TV -- but boy oh boy did they have Western science-fiction novels and comics. Old ones, quickly and questionably translated. American ones, German ones, British ones, by the shipload. A hell of a lot of unspoken influence is bound to come from those.
@@tsm688 I said "Apparently Battle ship Yamato was one of the inspirations for several Star Trek chapters", so I am literally saying that Battle ship Yamato inspired several things in Star trek not the other way around (at least not in the 70s-80s), check your reading skills please.
@@animeturnMMD it's also incredibly obscure in the other direction. Even the starships named yamato are almost certainly coincidence -- it's far more more likely the writers heard about the earth battleship than the space one. star trek already had color coded uniforms a decade before yamato did.
@@tsm688Many people who is part of this world of cinema and artistic productions have a much greater knowledge about what is going on in the "artistic" world so to speak, a director like James Cameron who has never done anything related to anime has confessed that he was aware of japanese animation and many of the ideas the japanese creator expressed through this way before "anime" was any popular in main stream western media. So while the relations may be obscure, it is highly probable that they are still there, these kinds of people are all the time on the lookout for different sources of inspiration, so the coincidences may not be just for random chance.
@@animeturnMMD "seen japanese animation" is not the same thing as "seen Yamato". Did it even have english translation about the time these people might have seen it? Fast forward thirty years and sure -- but back then, all you **might** get is snowy foreign language dubs on UHF at 3am. That's why it was obscure. Because for a long time it was impossible to get.
Getter Robo: "There's no 'I' in 'team'."
Texas Mack: "But there is 'me' in 'team'."
Devilman: "There is 'me' in 'meat'."
"There's no 'I' in 'team', and there's no 'you' in 'team'. Who the hell's in the goddamn team?"
@@the-letter_s Well there's tea in it, so the British will come colonize it I suppose.
@@planetfall5056 and not use spice from it later
Just like you can't spell dyslexia without sex. :)
It's crazy how this anime came out in the late 70s but is especially relevant in modern day Japan with how their society is run, some stories just age incredibly well and Harlock is an excellent example of this, it's something that's incredible to witness and watch
They are called "ahead of it's time"
Conformity is the elephant in the room of so much of what drives so many anime stories. It's nice to see that art that swims against that torrent gets time to shine as well.
Anglo-Westerners still holding onto pieces of the American Dream also love shoving individualism wherever they can.
@@cybertron1000s I live in the US and advocate for collectivism. The balance is skewed differently depending on where you go.
@@cybertron1000s As opposed to be forced to conform in a collective?
@@jessh4016 Ultimately humans are not ants nor robots. Humans are comprised of individual entities each unique. Even if you support "collectivism" you have to justify it using reality, and reality dictates that you start from the bottom up. Good luck.
@@cybertron1000s Individualism doesn't even originate from America...
RIP Leiji Matsumoto. Your works inspired science fiction genre in every single anime and tokosatsu.
Remember kids: if you drink too much, you can go from being cool like Captain Harlock to being all too much like the captain in Project A-Ko.
LOL 🍷🍷🍷 Project A-Ko was spot on in its parodies. 🤣
Safe to assume anyone who tries to be like Harlock ends up like the captain in A-Ko
In shame, I realize it's been too long since I last watched Project Ako.
I don't have time to to explain *hic* the need to drink to animals like you!
*OPEN FIRE*
@@K05H I remember watching my Central Park Media LaserDisc of Project A-KO 4 or 5 times a week when I first bought it in 1996. 🤩
one thing to know about yamato is while the anime lacks matsumoto's finer moral details that are found in harlock, the manga actually reflects what you spoke about in it's later chapters where the earth bares little respect for the feelings of its heroes and their sacrifices, forcing the yamato crew to reunite and steal their beloved ship from the disassembly line to sail through space with their own goals. also harlock appears in the manga's first half where he is the only human aboard the Acadia albeit with cybernetics keeping him alive from grave injuries, which leads the yamato crew to believe he is susume's older brother who barely survived but since the bridge in drenched in shadows, we can't tell for certain. okita leaves harlock with one last message as a comrade
"STAY ALIVE"
Meanwhile, Harlock probably hates cyborgs because of certain people.
I have never watched this anime, or read the manga, and I am now extremely confused
Trying to get fine details on the screen is... difficult. Not the least because you have a maximum resolution of 640x480, interlaced, at 24 FPS. And a limited time, and budget, and runtime. And the fact that an animated TV show, and indeed a combat effective ship, are a team effort. It plays as a big team thing, but no one there is being pressured into being part of the team, they all signed on with that dream.
Manga name?!!??
@@hyperman8690 space Pirate Harlock 1978
I love Harlock. That constant, desolate wind howl or spaceship hum, long, solemn pauses to reflect. It really formed my mood at 6 years old back in the 80s.
Great video.
Harlock means a lot to me, and I think you may have touched on something I have never been able to put words to.
He encourages us to be the most genuine version of ourselves, and in that honesty, we can find our own way in the world.
I found SBY as a preteen around 2009 and really got into it, but never got around to watching Harlock for some reason. Knowing your takehome from the franchise that you commented being a mindset I wish I'd learned a decade ago is hilarious. If God is my witness I will get around to watching the show before the year's out!
"Imagine if the man who gave his body and soul to protect his commander was now telling his crew to die for no one but themselves," You mean the Boss from MGS3? The anti-militarist? That sounds sick as hell.
Character develoment indeed
in terms of Harlock is that an antagonist or protagonist? I agree though it is sick as hell and many people tend to do it because their morals can change on aesthetic and it does not matter over what, some of these are very simple like accepting someone over the money they give you bur rejecting someone over the money they lack, their the conflict is over obtaining true love and/or making someone understand the reality of their actions, another example which would be "authority" figures who set up stings and at times honey trap others, sending people to cells or schools for technicalities or specific needs that don't come at the price of anyone but the more arrested brings in more pay and others aren't allowed to be "heroes" because they just don't happen to have a badge. These types of people can be in just about anywhere and anyone can be like them but its best not to as then it becomes more of a dog eats dog world. In "true classic superhero tales', dramas, and so on, these things and topics tend to be central antagonist or at the very least present drastically, 4 examples of this are the stories of Batman, Kamen Rider/Masked Rider, Godzilla, and Astro Boy.
Captain Harlock's spirit of freedom and fierce individuality has always really appealed to me.
that's what americans say before invading a country
@@slorenz5626 Let me give you my freedom and fierce individuality. Babe.
Same !!!!
Like your Sherlock hound pfp
@@slorenz5626 Quick, someone said something positive -- you gotta inject some negativity!
Given that Leiji Matsumoto passed away a week ago, it seems like a good time to visit what made him tick and this has been a very good glimpse. I was attracted to Harlock, but didn't entirely know why. So I thank you for helping me to unlock that.
Saw it for the first time back in 1979, when it aired for the first time.
In Italy, Captain Harlock is legendary.
From the italian opening : "Il suo teschio è una bandiera che vuol dire libertà". "His skull is a flag that means freedom".
I think one stumbling block this essay has is that, in trying to paint Harlock as the Anti-Spokon, it kinda ignores the BIG thing both philosophies agree on: they're both anti-stagnation. The self-improvement for the betterment of the team promoted by Spokon is as against stagnation as Harlock's stubborn pursuit of individualistic passions.
The opposition therein is WHY the two are anti-stagnation. For Spokon, it's because stagnation is detrimental to the health of the nation/sports team/pirate crew/military unit/shared dream/*insert collective here* while for Harlock stagnation was detrimental to the health of the INDIVIDUAL first and foremost.
Spot on.
maybe this is what it says on the tin, but I think you can strongly argue that spokon as a genre is much more useful as a tool to promote things that reinforce the status quo.
i think it's also important to point out that there are many different kinds of stagnation. there is stagnation in the sense of production, in the sense of a loss of populace or might or some sort of general concept that affects the whole nation, and then there is stagnation of the individual, of the social, of their personal understanding of the world, of that which they care about deep in their heart. i think it would be fair to argue that the spokon genre only fights the first kind, while allowing the second to flourish, since conformity encourages you not to challenge yourself socially and to change your interests to mold to the status quo, while capitan harlock seems to encourage you to fight the latter, leaving the health of the wider society by the wayside should it interfere with who you are and what you wish to become.
As it is right now for Japan, we do suffer from the more abusive part of the "sports konjou" the conformity is really stagnating the hearts and minds of people here down into a spiral of abuse, tbh.
So from my point of view, sports konjou doesn't really touch all that much on anti-stagnation. It's only really repeating things that we already know about nakama and guts. Or in other words, unpaid overtime until you die from overwork stress because the company is your family, your nakama.
It's getting better as people are starting to gain a bit more individuality and the courage to say no
@@ComicalConqueror Yes, says on the tin. And quite a few of these manga and anime is really good at selling what's on the tin. Or are you gonna tell me that Dragon Ball is NOT about self-improvement and never settling for less than your best because it has elements of Spokon and is thus icky icky bad bad conformity propaganda so let's ignore the actual text in favor of the imagined subtext?
I think captain Harlock have some Charles De Gaulle vibes and it's why he is so loved here in France, under the name of Albator
I live in Quebec, Albator c’est mon enfance
Harlock will always hold a special place in my heart, along with Galaxy Express 999. It's vision of the future may have always felt a bit exaggerated, and its love of grand drama may not appeal to everyone, but it's part of what gave it charm to me
Today the World as presented in Harlock doesn't even seem that exaggerated. Like, today we have the football world cup playing out in stadiums that cost thousands of lives to build. Thousands of people died to fuel the entertainment of the masses. It doesn't get much more dystopian than that.
@@TheExecutorr approaching peak bread and circuses like at the fall of the Roman Empire.
@@jeffumbach honestly yeah, we might as well have given these workers swords and spears and make them fight for our entertainment. Survival rate would probably have been higher.
That's truly so incredibly retarded that I can't even believe you are comparing a dystopian world that exists for self pleasure to ONE country that skipped safety regulations to get money from a company and their competence. Which is an entirely different political issue.
You could have said the rise on loneliness, only fans, tinder, social media. Anything. And you chose the most unrelated and misunderstood topic that you could ever think of.
I remember trying to watch Capt. Harlo0ck on our local French channel back in the early 80s, where it was renamed "Alabator' (all together now, "Albaaaaa-tor! Albaaaaa-tor...!"). The problems were that, one, my French stunk even back then when I was "learning" it, and they aired the episodes out-of-sequence.
As much as Crunchyroll gets on my nerves, I appreciate being able to FINALLY watch the complete series there.
R.I.P Makio Inoue.
ALbaaaaa-tor ! ALbaaaaa-tor ! Le corsaire de l'eeeesp-ace ! que de souvenirs, et c'est sur Crunchyroll ?
I found my love for Harlock in my teens, after hunting the anime down once I saw the 3D Adaptation and deciding that skull ship with lasers is cool. Seeing it so early in my life made the lessons Harlock taught me part of the foundation for my adult life. I’m glad you made this, and hope more people go watch the show.
yo that movie is hella epic. Its got an almost totally diferent overall message from the anime; but harlock himself still holds the same values. thats how i ended up watching the anime as well
Where did you watch it? Because I am trying to find it.
This is the video I have been waiting decades for. I have always loved Harlock so much, but found him baffling. Now everything I have seen him say, do , and sometimes more importantly *not* do makes sense! Thank you MercuryFalcon!
Interesting analysis.
Ive watched this anime some years ago, and its one of my favourites from 70s decade. And one of the things that made me like the anime was that one of the crew members was a geek who loved building models, basically me back then lol
Yattaran is one of the best characters and embodies the message perfectly, he's not vital to the crew at first glance, but his knowledge and love of reduced models saved the Arcadia and everyone on board more than once
Sail the Sea of Stars, Captain Matsumoto.
The opening to Captain Harlock give me chills, such a fantastic show.
I never missed this show back in the 80's, when I was a child. It was one of the first anime I ever watched, but the deeper meaning escaped me back then. There was deep sentiment of melancholy on the series that I really liked. The way the story was told was so different from any and all american cartoons. That was what really defined what anime is to me. Your essay is great as usual, thank you!
Harlock is the hero we need, not the one we deserve.
your comment hit me like a ton of bricks 0.o
glad to see someone bringing up nishizaki's role and importance behind yamato. so many people misattribute yamato's nationalist themes to matsumoto but that was all nishizaki, especially once you get to the second movie and its ending.
Yeah exactly, one can tell because Nishizaki exaggerates nationalism and WW2 denial heavy
Yamato's journey to Iscandar reminds me of the Japanese submarine missions to Germany to bring back technology that could stop the bombings over Japan. I love the show, but it's like a revisionist's nationalistic fan-fiction
@@米空軍パイロット Especially with the plot twist that humans shot first.
Nishizaki is already gone.
13:42 Anime Lois and Peter Griffon
It’s been two months after the video. R.I.P Leiji Matsumoto
I, too, love M.D. Geist. He can't stop. He's just a soldier. He was commander of Special Maneuvering Force and had the super mundane fighting ability by virtue of the specific biological cloning technology.
It doesn't get much cooler than that.
When asked why he activated the Death Force after fighting so hard to get into the control center to deactivate it, M.D. Geist's only words were, "NG+ yo"
And that is why he is the greatest.
I also love MD Geist. He's dangerous. The most dangerous. 😂
I think I love the songs more than I love M.D. Geist x3 It's a fun bloody mess and certainly, special.
But frankly, I'm more for the other movie that came with the "Mecha Masters" DVD box, namely GenoCyber. Of course the amount of violent depictions in that one is disturbing to say the least. Also let's not forget,
*CYBERNETICS GUARDIAN CYGUARD*
Holy shit that album kicks so much ass! 80's *JAPANESE* Trash Heavy Metal, and this Cyguard is so metal *IT PULLS A BATTLE AXE OUT OF IT'S GLAM ROCK HAIR!* :DDDD
So do I. M.D. Geist is awesome! He's like poor 80's badassery distilled into one character.
M.D Geist is dope, but I mostly still think about it because it was created by my favorite Kamen Rider writer, Riku Sanjo
The fact that Japan operates as a collectivist society doesn't mean that all Japanese are happy with this. Many are not. But they don't dare break ranks, because of how those who do are treated in Japan. It is sad really.
yeah those nips are hella sad
Why I like blue lock sports anime it goes against the Japanese collectivism mentality where being the best trumps being a mere cog in a machine like team.
That we don’t like it doesn’t mean we want to destroy it.
Our safety depends on it. We don’t have a big country to do as we please like the USA
@@grumblekin I think you overestimate North America's stability...
The younger generations are more likely to push back, but only so much because sometimes even an individualist needs a support network.
Love Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999. Definitely need to see the rest of Leiji’s works.
Watch Captain Future, Leiji´s Character Design, not credited to him. One of the Best Sci-Fi Anime Space Opera based on Real Science Concepts.
@@juan.toys.n.bricks and the great theme song.
Not to forget Space Battleship Yamato
@@l4rsch I haven’t seen that one yet but I have been wanting to and this video just made me want to see it even more!
I personally like the 2199 remake more than the original. It's a good way to start into the francaise
Sorry Pacific Rim fan here. During development the producers constantly argued with Guillermo on certain aspects of the film, one of them being the Jeager design. They didn't like the 2-pilot system & wanted to change it, but Guillermo stressed that it was essential for the science behind the mechs & for the pilots to work as a team to fight against the Kaiju. Guillermo also loved the idea of different countries building their own Jeagers because he felt that symbolically; its not just one person or nation fighting to save the world, its the world working together to save itself. Guillermo was huge fan of mecha anime & defiantly knew what he was doing. He wanted to make something that paid homage to the classic anime he watched & create something that Western & Eastern fans of the genre would appreciate. But scummy corporate interest got in the way & we ended up with the shit stain that is Pacific Rim: Uprising.
If only he made a sequel
@@PeachDragon_ I would’ve preferred a prequel leading up to the first movie, but yes.
Love whenever people talk about Harlock
Lots of modern manga/anime, particularly the battle shonen, owe a lot of 60s/70s sports manga/anime. From a superficial level with the idea of tournament arcs and training arcs but on a deeper level with the "feel" of getting stronger to beat impossible odds like you mentioned in the video.
There's one dialog from harlock "you fight for own belifes, must fight for the sake of your heart" i love this anime
Sail the Sea of Stars, Captain Matsumoto. And thank you.
Captain Harlock is an adaptation of the spanish "El Pirata" from Espronceda, wich es the ideal of a romantic pirate seeking for fredom
A perfect summary of why Harlock is an amazing character
It's pretty funny how much different the manga version of Getter Robo became in comparison to the original tv shows with the end result of humanity eventually merging with Getter energy and becoming the enemy of the entire universe.
The concept of Getter Rays merging with Humanity turns out to be more utterly relevant than ever before because we are the ultimate destroyers of our world.
This was a wonderful analysis, among all TH-camrs who talk about anime I feel you're among those who really knows and understands the themes of each work and makes great retrospectives and analysis. It's amazing how Harlock is still being referenced to this day, I'd say even more than Yamato, at least outside of Japan
This was an excellent video. You pretty much nailed the appeal of the original Harlock and why so many adaptations after the TV series miss the mark of his so often. The Lupin comparison is fairly amped because they both Harlock and Lupin were popular back then despite them being against the norm of what was expected of anime back then.
I'd love to see modern animes talking more about individualism, it's almost a crime to see how much the Japanese culture forces people to be accepted by the "collective" and be equal so everybody.
Their high suicide rates can the traced to that in a lot of cases and it fuels their bullying situation.
thats why i like blue lock, it may be a sport manga but it has this atitude about honing your ego that it makes me connect to some of the themes here.
Whereas Western media emphasizes "individualism" while fostering the exact same attitudes of hard work, competitiveness, and unquestioning obedience towards authority and "common sense" (i.e. group consensus)
@@MCArt25 "common sense" is not group consensus, but intuition.
@@algorithmgeneratedanimegir1286 what is regarded as "common sense" does indeed change with cultural shifts, which is why many are familiar with older generations referring to the younger generations as lacking common sense.
Group consensus (as the medias and educational systems would have you believe) these days is comprised of many social dos, don'ts and ideologies which take priority over many things common sense once dictated.
Here's a damning example of this truth: common sense of yesterday- men can't have babies. Fit that in the equation of today's belief systems.
Now, "intuition" is arguably the result of a sort of auto-response mental suggestion cumulative of what is understood as precedent (truthful/factual or not) and what is observed during a situation or event, basically an assumption generated by the subconscious. Intuition is not always correct and the batting averages varies individual to individual. Now, how one regards this "suggestion" (supernatural, instinctual etc.) is another story altogether, but inarguably this suggestion this intuition is going to be largely based on individual knowledge, no arguing this as 2 individuals can report with conflicting intuition, undoubtedly group consensus/societal etiquette is a heavy inluencer on intuition and common sense.
@@MCArt25 That's because in the west, "individualism" is used to represent a political stance, which by nature of being political must necessarily be a collectivist notion.
I was literally just checking your channel last night because I was craving a new episode lol. Excellent work and timing dude!
Fantastic video Mercury!
This video basically explained why Captain Harlock appeals to me, much like Emeraldas does.
I've become so disenfranchised with the system, and over time realized that it wasen't broken, *It was working as intended.*
If I were able I'd probably take the path they took. I rather be free than live in the illusion of it.
Yep those systems are functioning as intended by and for the corrupt, they only look broken to us because we were all taught lies.
Not sure why I'm all of a sudden seeing more videos about the Lleijiverse and other older anime, but it warms my old heart to see these classics get some modern day love.
Captain Harlock and Star Trek captains were sadly the source of most of my fatherly inspiration, ESPECIALLY Harlock's speech in Galaxy Express 999 about taking risks.
You forgot captain jellico
Thanks for making this video. After watching the anime (which is very well made for it's time) I've wanted to get an idea of what the creator of the show was trying to do here. And for a while I thought the creator of Captain Harlock. Was trying to send some kind of message of manhood to the audience. It's nice to get what feels like some closure about this series.
Captain Harlock is so badass, he was adapted into the Warhammer 40k universe
Really? How?
@@piotrwisniewski70 I guess he refers to Commander Sebastian Yarrick?
One of the disappointing things about the 40k board game is that you can't have an army of ragtag wierdos of all shapes and sizes. Like, even the Tau who are supposed to be a multispecies coalition have units that all look almost identical. I've fantasized of having pilot minis in mechs that look like Lieji Matsumoto characters. I definitely think GW should have a board game where you are some kind of space pirate/trader and your crew consists of an assortment of funny characters of your choice.
Source: trust me bro
If anyone's wondering Erasmus Haarlock is a rogue trader in 40k, he's probably a reference to this guy. That's probably what the op meant.
Harlock is Greta because it doesn't see individualism as opposed to collective action. The bond of the crew in his ship is important throughout the series and they dedicate themselves for each other, but none of that is done though some blind nationalism, but because they know that only together they can avhieve their individual goals. This is an important lesson that I think kids should really have, so they know to look for groups that help their quirks shine instead of having to control them
Humanities true potential is only achieved through contradictory means. When every individual fights for the collective, and when the collective fights for every individual. When the individual sees the collective as just a means of profit, or the collective sees the individual as disposable, it leads to the decay of human progress and power.
At the end of "Black Hawk Down", a Delta force soldier tries to explain to a Ranger why they do what they do. "...they don't get it; it's about the guy next to you".
I've no problem with nationalism; it's an extension of tribalism, which is our true nature, like all the primates. But, true tribalism differs from socialism in that each individual member of the tribe matters to every other member the tribe. That's the failing of huge nations; a tribe must be relatively small to have that bond.
The tv series "Firefly" reflects this. It's epitomized in an exchange between Simon and Mal:
Simon: "you don't even like me; so why'd you come for us?"
Mal: "You're on my crew; why are we still discussing this?"
They're all on his ship for different reasons, yet they come to bond as a tribe for each other. Even the ones they don't like.
I'm starting to suspect a lot of "Firefly" was cribbed from "Captain Harlock".
@@Hiraghm I mean they Al’s stole blatantly from outlaw Star.
I wonder if you’ll view any crossover works and see how the stories or symbolism and so on connect and meet.
The GE999 Movie would be a great talking point, because both in content and thematically, it's both that series's movie and a Harlock movie.
@@fhornmichaelmac are there anyomore like that?
Welcome back, Falcon!
Harlock is in Matsumoto´s rushed first manga adaptation of Yamato. The site Our Starblazers goes into which version did what in exhaustive detail.
Rintaro´s The Endless Odyssey OVAs might be my favorite version of this. I tried them all and failed to warm to any of them or even Leiji Matsumoto and his manga but what a trailblazer. His works are now highly dated relics of the past but he 100% pushed the industry forward.
Hard disagree on it being dated. I argue that anime's storytelling just became really nihilistic for a long time. You'll see a resurgence in the relevance of these more operatic works as time goes on. People are starved for an ounce of meaning.
@@Leijiverse I am more critical of his manga work than the anime adaptations. It's a chore to get though. The best Harlock manga is the Dimensional Voyage remake and he didn´t draw it.
They really portrayed Harlock very well in the game Super Robot Wars T. The final attack that has him firing an attack with all the ship weaponry only to finish with his saber is so well done
And hey you can have Harlock fight alongside the Shin Getter Robo!
this is one of the best videos i've ever seen - you're an amazing presenter and host !
it's a great atmosphere, & even with the comfy pacing, you've got ample and burning Spokon (and personal passion) yourself !
thanks for sharing your unique knowledge and perspective
I remember picking this up on dvd in what I would eventually find out to be the Discotek media booth a few years ago at Anime Expo. I had no idea what I was in for, but when I finished this with my sister it was one of my favorite animes I've watched.
I often think this series was much better than a lot of people give it credit for, if not just for the narrative it writes. I had no idea it was the icon of subtle counterculture it was. thanks for the insightful vid!
Excellent upload; I am curious is there a way to parse the development of Yamato’s two conflicting creators over the series run? Because I feel the show itself gradually comes to odds with that nationalistic intention (such as once the Yamato effectively destroys Garmilas, Kodai has an emotional break down over the entire idea of “we’re raised to get better than others and to win” with the addendum of “so what happens to the ones that lose?? Do they not deserve happiness??”), plus how the themes of Yamato shifted over the series existence.
those guys would be allies to the greatest superheroes of all time based on those questions alone
I watched Captain Harlock as a child of 5 or 6. I didn't understand any of the concepts very well or what was going on, except the fight for what you believe in. I loved it. I have since watched it as an adult and it felt so different to other anime, in a way more realistic and at the same time more fantasy. A friend learned that Captain Harlock is my favorite hero from all of animedom so they made me a painting. It hangs on my wall where everyone sees it as they enter.
Thanks for this essay video. Love it.
Great video, I don't know how long it takes you to make these but, keep it up. It's this type of work that makes me think about life and my own personal philosophy on how one should live.
Reminds me of an analysis of My Hero Acadamia I watched tears back, pointing out how it glorified individuality as well. I can’t help but see it as a synthesis between Harlock’s themes and spokon. They improve themselves, and have incredibly different visual styles and techniques. They work individually and as a team. Both attitudes have their appropriate time and place.
Another banger, loved the background on the dichotomy between the two huge Matsumoto properties.
Cannot stress enough how the spokon aspect of Getter Robo only exists in the Toei anime. In the original manga, Hayato and Ryoma are fucking homicidal psychopaths that couldn't give less of a fuck about soccer lmao
Spokon encourages duty and conformity
Harlock encourages individuality and following your own dreams
And then there's me, stuck in the middle, with neither the ability to conform to society or any real desires or ambitions of my own.
Read Max Stirner.
@@satansjihad6353 Max Stirner and other proto-existentialist authors are nice and everything, but they're not going to give anybody a road map on where to find a reason to live. What you should recommend instead is for OP to explore more art, try to find deeply fulfilling relationships with people, and learn more about things which interest them in the moment. If you spend enough time doing those things, you'll eventually figure out what you want to struggle for.
I don't know about the "conformity" bit, while it's true in some animes, it's not like the shared dream isn't rebelling against something, thus One Piece and Marine/ world government or even in a game like Persona 5.
@@UmTois Those are exceptions, though, not the rule. One Piece's contemporary series and competitor Naruto is very overtly in favor of conformity and placing society over the individual.
M.D. Geist is the first anime I ever saw.
You are the first and only person I've heard mention it in the thirty years since.
WOAH. We all love and respect MD Geist. Nobody knows all the memories he's left behind
Harlock is the intellectualism anime needed. Thank goodness he became the mainstream animated show in french-speaking parts of the world, with a brand new amazing soundtrack with that.
I think a video on Galaxy Express 999 next would be a great video. This video was awesome. I'm glad I learned more about one of my favorite series!
So HARLOCK is where I got my belief in artists from. I don’t care if those who create share my vision or see things as I do. I want them to embrace their passion, add their touches to my work and visa versa. Passion drives growth and passion can only thrive when tested.
I'd seen the character before, but I never knew what it was from.
I do think emphasizing either collectivism or individualism too much leads to problems. Stagnation and loss of self in the former, and narcissism and nihilism in the latter. Both can lead to burnout. Running yourself ragged for others, or wearing yourself out because you are too proud to ask for help.
I really like your channel, you always talk about anime I want to learn more about
Real good analysis in your upload! You re not the only one to respect and remember M.D.Geist!
aw I am so happy to see this!
I was introduced to Captain Harlock rather recently and it's now become one of my most favourite series thus far!
So happy to see a video like this especially now when it feels like it's pretty obscure :'''''D
Thank you.
This was a genuinely great and inspirational video. I stumbled on it randomly and as someone relatively new to anime and manga, it really is great when i find videos about retro anime. The themes of individuality versus social homogeneity and conformity really resonate with me too and as a Nigerian, i like how the Captain Harlock anime emohasizes this but also shows how a healthy balance should be struck between the two points.
Harlock serves as the personification of the balance between individualism and cooperation. Each member of his crew is an individual, bringing with them not only their own passions, but their own strengths and talents as well. Yet, they are a crew - they all serve the Arcadia, its captain, and each other out of mutual respect, contributing their individual strengths toward the mission's success, with the understanding that that corporate success is but a stepping stone toward each of their individual goals.
In his writings to the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul speaks of the church being one body, made of many parts. He compares the church to the human body, reminding his audience how each part of the body is designed with a specific function to perform a particular task; yet all these serve the ultimate goal of maintaining the body's own health and well-being, while simultaneously allowing the body to interact meaningfully with the world around itself. A truly functioning society is similar; we don't all do the same thing, because we're not all the same person. Yet, each of us wants something, and each of us understands we can get that something if we help enough other people get the things they're after. While our paths and goals may be diverse and disparite, our pursuit of them can still ultimately contribute to mutual success. We do not need to be in conflict with each other to get what we want - on the contrary, if we are willing to help others, we will often find the help we ourselves need.
Harlock embodies the radical notion that mutuality does not need to devolve into conformity. That one can be fully themselves, yet still be exactly what the rest of the world needs them to be. That we don't have to sacrifice our dignity for the sake of the status quo - on the contrary, our individual passions, and our pursuit thereof, can actually improve our situation, both as individuals and as a society. Law should not burden us or keep us from our passions, but direct us and give us the framework by which those passions may not only be achieved, but achieved in the most constructive and profitable way possible.
He also exposes the real selfishness of conformity - by keeping your head down and doing as you're told, you might guarantee your own survival, but you do so at the cost of never achieving your full potential, and moreover, denying the benefits of that potential to the rest of society. The conformist effectively sells his soul for a crust of bread, enjoying neither the freedom to pursue his goal, nor the riches that come with reaching it. Even as I write this, I find myself convicted, knowing that I have sacrificed many of my own dreams on the altar of survival. Harlock's philosophy can perhaps be summarized thus -
Don't just survive. LIVE.
In Latter iterations of Space Battleship Yamato they included more of the Harlock mentality. But it is just because we have a common goal it doesn't mean we sacrifice ourselves to it. 2199 especially does this with how the crew interact.
It's not often that my views evolve while watching this kind of video... but having seen through to the end, I'm now interested in seeing the original Captain Harlock animes, that came before the movie, in their entirety.
I don't care who makes them, any story that promotes individualism (respect for the innate value of the individual) is worth my time.
THANK YOU. I'm a huge Harlock fan and I've been waiting for someone to notice how amazingly these themes are expressed.
The Getter Robo pilots in the manga was quite different from the ones in the anime. Ryoma (the leader) was a badass karate user and Hayato led a band of delinquent school revolutionaries. Musashi (and later, Benkei) were consistent between anime and manga, though - Musashi was a judo practitioner and Benkei was a baseball player, who even wore catcher's gear when he piloted.
I'm aware, I've read the manga.
"Badass karate" lmao. Karate is a joke.
@@algorithmgeneratedanimegir1286 i guess so, i see people use their service, a badge, or the practice of the usage of a form of combat or weapon as they glorify their ability to put others down usually through morals that change on aesthetic and based on a consensus that ever so often makes it seem like its a dog eat dog world regardless of over what the topic is and if the action verbal or physical be done to cause such pain is normalized or not.
I would gladly be a cool free individual who, nevertheless, lives in a society, and sometimes has to serve it (without dying for the glory of the emperor).
10:10 Maybe it was the subs i used, but i remember Mamoru dying a pointless death by attacking the enemy when he could have scaped as he was ordered to. Personally i didn't liked how not only he survived but somehow was on Iscandar at the end of the whole thing.
Now i haven't seen Harlock yet but you have convinced me i should get to it ASAP. So far of all Leiji Matsumoto stuff i have only watched GE999 and the first Yamato season.
Rest in Peace Matsumoto san
That Captain Harlock theme at the end hit hard, I always loved the music
Spokon describes the Japanese Team in the World Cup. Coming back and beating Germany then doing it again against Spain.
Man... you LOVE some old school anime. Really enjoyed this video.
Fun little side note.. both members of Daft Punk are huge Captain Harlock fans and in the Weeknd’s video for I Fell It a coming they are both dressed just like him.
Certainly one of my favorite anime shows when I was a kid during the 80's
I was kinda poor growing up, so we didn't have cable. We had "peasant-vision": three channels, and a fourth if you adjusted the antenna to get the fuzzy French channel. The only Anime we had were on either CBC or the French channel. Astro Boy, Ulysses 31, Robotech, and Captain Harlock.
To this day I have never seen an episode of Ulysses 31 in English, just in French, and I still love that combination gun sword that no one else ever did as cool... not even the Power Rangers.
This being the case, 90% of my love of Captain Harlock comes from it being played in French on a staticky station that would sometimes come in just right. I've seen some of the remakes, and Galaxy Express 999, even enjoyed them, but I still remember rushing home after school to see if we could catch some of Captain Harlock, even when I wasn't sure what was actually going on.
LMAO The I saw the Wiki entry I paused and read it expecting something horrible. When I finished reading I unpaused and said "he sounds extremely based" exactly at the same time you did.
Also, the mouth of the barrel of The Wave Motion weapon formed The Imperial Crest... XD
as do many other natural and artificial objects. it is a very simple shape
To be honest, I'm kind of surprised Captain Harlock became as well loved as it is. Don't get me wrong, the show even without the underlying themes is really interesting and certainly worth a watch but given Japan's mindset always seemed to be about national pride and "spoken" that I'm surprised they allowed a show like Harlock to air given that the themes seem to run counterproductive to what Japanese was touting at the time.
Great video. I’m familiar with ‘guts!’ As a driving force in anime but I don’t think I ever read how specific sports were to that. Or at the very least that term.
I think you may have missed something about Harlock, the crew and the…. Hm, ship’s contract? Yes, come on board if you will fight for what you believe in, but it seems unspoken that your personal beliefs still must be sidelined for the welfare of the ship and your comrades. How many times did Tadashi want to just kill every Mazone without hesitation and Harlock said “No. we need…”?
Do as you like but pull together in battle.
The thing is, to many of that sounds like contradiction but I don’t think it is.
Good that you brought Nishizaki into the mix. Yamato was clearly his idea and project. He just wasn’t getting any traction until he brought Matsumoto on board and I am convinced that Matsumoto’s designs along with the work of Studio Nue (in its earliest form) that sold the show. I liken it to when George Lucas had Ralph Mcquarrie (sp?) crank out some art that got everyone fired up.
And don’t forget the other key player in Yamato. Ishiguro. He tied it all together.
He returned when we needed him most.
Man, this channel is so good!
Damn, it really shows how context of the time of release can fundamentally change how you intetpret the story. Reminds me of the Shin Godzilla debacle.
What is the debacle with shin Godzilla?
@@lkcdarzadix6216 People who went, expecting a typical monster bash movie, were surprised by the tone, all of the government talks and seemingly lack of a concrete main protagonist. But with knowing the context - that it was released after the Fukushima disaster and as a response to it- you realize the "protagonist" is Japan as a whole and the movie is a commentary on how the JP government's way of doing things is flawed, especially in a crisis situation.
@@elpizo1789 I took people's criticism of it in the west was very philistine. I took note also "true classic superhero tales" tend to have ever so philistine opponents in the story and even in real life. They basically fight the halo and horns effect constantly because they fight for what is truly right regardless of the topic, like that one book where Spider-Man tells this boy to instead be with this girl who loves him for who he is and stand up to the other girl who rejects and accepts him for shallow reasons but calls him creep for his shyness.
Great video, as usual, MercFalc. Love your stuff and love Harlock.
Just discovered this channel and immediately subscribed after the video ended.
Great summary! Thanks.
To me Leiji Matsumoto will remain the best of all time. No other anime or manga ever reach the level of poetry as Matsumoto.
7:50 Apparently Battle ship Yamato was one of the inspirations for several Star Trek chapters and movies. It just crossed my mind how the uniforms serve as a way to tell you if crew men is from engineering, a comanding officer, a scientist or medical staff and so on, an interesting feed back between two franchises. Another curious fact is that ships called Yamato in star trek always tend to be destroyed in action for some reason or another, at least is always portrayer in a dignified way like being destroyed in heroic action, other times its destrution is an excuse to start a chapter about a mistery investigation, which leads to reveal an unknown enemy or a really dangerous anomaly, always thanks to the heroic sacrifice of the Yamato and its crew. :V
Eh... Star Trek was -- and is -- incredibly obscure in Japan. If you ask them about it, they think you're talking about Star Wars -- which was never quite a craze there either. They don't even have anything **like** star trek.
For a while I speculated wildly about some sort of Yamamoto/Star Trek connection because Yamamoto had a warp drive. But that term was apparently invented by John W Campbell in his 57 novel "Islands in Space".
Which led me down an entirely unexpected rabbithole. They didn't have Western science fiction TV -- but boy oh boy did they have Western science-fiction novels and comics. Old ones, quickly and questionably translated. American ones, German ones, British ones, by the shipload. A hell of a lot of unspoken influence is bound to come from those.
@@tsm688 I said "Apparently Battle ship Yamato was one of the inspirations for several Star Trek chapters", so I am literally saying that Battle ship Yamato inspired several things in Star trek not the other way around (at least not in the 70s-80s), check your reading skills please.
@@animeturnMMD it's also incredibly obscure in the other direction. Even the starships named yamato are almost certainly coincidence -- it's far more more likely the writers heard about the earth battleship than the space one. star trek already had color coded uniforms a decade before yamato did.
@@tsm688Many people who is part of this world of cinema and artistic productions have a much greater knowledge about what is going on in the "artistic" world so to speak, a director like James Cameron who has never done anything related to anime has confessed that he was aware of japanese animation and many of the ideas the japanese creator expressed through this way before "anime" was any popular in main stream western media.
So while the relations may be obscure, it is highly probable that they are still there, these kinds of people are all the time on the lookout for different sources of inspiration, so the coincidences may not be just for random chance.
@@animeturnMMD "seen japanese animation" is not the same thing as "seen Yamato". Did it even have english translation about the time these people might have seen it?
Fast forward thirty years and sure -- but back then, all you **might** get is snowy foreign language dubs on UHF at 3am. That's why it was obscure. Because for a long time it was impossible to get.
another good dense video, keep it up.
Incredible video!