I can easily admit that about half of the entertainment that I’ve consumed in the last decade has been Japanese – and more of that would be anime.
I’ve gone into depth on the topic before, and there is one series that sticks out to me – Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (I think it’s called “When they Cry” in English). It’s a great bit of fiction, and it keeps you guessing up until the end. Of the 100 people that bought the original game at Comiket, only one person hit upon the right “answer” for that chapter (that’s where the claim that only 1% of people will be able to unravel Higurashi comes from). I won’t spoil it – even though by now you should have either watched it or you’ve probably been spoiled on it.
Anyway, since Higurashi is a big inspiration to me, I’ve forced more than a few people to watch it. It was even part of the “onboarding” process in my previous company – if you wanted to work in my team you needed to watch the first two series. Thankfully, I’ve grown up a little bit now and I try to keep my weabooism under wraps.
All of the Higurashi songs, including all of the albums created around it, sit on my playlist, and thus my kids have heard most of them, and know that it’s something that I enjoy. And so, I’ve promised them that “when they get older” we can watch it together. Since my daughter was about, she’s asked “when” that will be. As an off-the-cuff answer, I’ve said “when you’re 10”. Unfortunately, that is now gospel to her. My wife frowns upon me playing too many weeb songs to the kids, so I usually only do so when she’s not around, and even then I do try to limit it to the less risky songs and video clips.
Normally, I wouldn’t be worried about that. Kids eventually get exposed to all the wrong things in the world, and whilst I don’t want to rush them into it, you also can’t protect them forever.
That being said, I’ve had a pretty high fever for the last few days, and that (for some reason) stirred up some memories. One memory, in particular, has made me re-think the “you can watch Higurashi when you’re 10” statement.
I’m not sure where my mum was, but she was out of the house one winter’s night. My brothers had gone to sleep, but my dad, seeing that I was now 10, decided that we should watch a movie together. He picked one of his favorites – Zulu – and we sat down and watched it together. This is a story about a British brigade in Africa that is encircled by a local Zulu tribe and then wiped out, even though the Zulus only had spears against the British’s muscats. Looking back on it, it’s a good story about understanding your enemy’s weaknesses and knowing your territory in order to win.
But that’s not what 10-year-old me saw.
I was introduced to the horrors of war that night. There was death on both sides and a general lack of mercy. It wasn’t something that I was a real fan of. Ever since I was a kid I’ve had night terrors, and for the next few months, those terrors included Zulus approaching through the field that adjoined our backyard and slaying everyone in my house.
Not so great.
I’m sure that my subconscious has been dwelling on this for some time, looking for some appropriate chink in the armour to present itself. I could easily imagine myself following the same pattern with my kids – waiting until the missus was out and then sharing my favorite TV show with them for some A-grade bonding. I know that my dad meant well, but it had the opposite effect.
Now I have to admit that I’m reconsidering showing them Higurashi, with all its graphic loli-slaying goodness, to my kids; even if they’re 10.
I’ll just have to hold out until they’re 11.
Cpl Crud's Writings 