Yokai/Youkai can mean a ghost, monster, demon, spirits, phantom or strange apparition. This word was derived from the Chinese kanji: Yao Guai, 妖怪 (yao means demon/monster and guai means weird).
We see lots of these monsters in various Anime, such as Yu Yu Hakusho, D.Grayman, Blood+, Shounen Onmyouji, Ghost Hunt, Inuyasha and more.
The translation for Yokai I've seen most is "Demon", or "Monster". A good example is Inuyasha, he is known as half-demon. But, is the word "Demon" the same as what we're used to? No. I believe Demons in Anime translated from Yokai are very different. They're more like monsters, than demons that burn in hell. I think by watching many Anime with the concept of demons, people have adapted a different meaning to that word.
Is Demon a good translation for Yokai? I actually can't think of a better word. Monsters also have its own meaning in English, so I don't think it would fit all the time, since Yokai can be anything that's seen as a creature, that's strange. However, many Yokai are really not that scary and can just be big looking creatures or even animals. In Yu Yu Hakusho, Yokai are
Yokai (in this case, Yaoguai) is also portrayed a lot in Wuxia as well, especially in mythological and game-based series like Chinese Paladin, Xuan Yuan Sword and Strange Tales of Liaozhai. In those shows, usually a Yaoguai is not a human (huh, of course!) and they are some form of animal spirit. Some of them may be nasty, for example - we may call it a spider demon, others can appear to be good, like a mermaid spirit.
(She's known as the butterfly spirit in Chinese Paladin, but she is grouped as a monster)
Many shows have debated whether Yokai/Yaoguai are good or evil. In shows like Xuan Yuan Sword and Chinese Paladin, those so-called Demons often show human emotions. Often, humans in the shows have impure thoughts and turn evil. That started the talk of, "if humans go down the wrong path, and demons want to be kind, then what's the difference between the two?"
This is explored in great detail with Ningke from Xuan Yuan Sword, as she was a demoness, yet she had good in her heart.
In Anime and Wuxia, many characters choose to sacrifice themselves for someone else. They may be the hero/heroine, an ex-villain, or even just a normal person, but their selfless decisions to put themselves in danger for someone else often makes them very noble and memorable and leaves us wondering - what motivated them to do that? What exactly was going through their mind at the moment of sacrifice?
Firstly, I'd like to split the "sacrifice" into three types: Love, Righteousness and Repayment.
Sacrifice for Love
Sacrificing for love is when a character uses their own love to protect someone they love. The person they love may be a romantic partner or a family member, but these characters regard their loved one very highly, to the point where they will do whatever it takes to keep their loved one happy or alive, even if it cost their own lives.
Example 1 is Hinata from Naruto, although she didn't die, but she jumped in front of Pain's attacks to block them from Naruto, because she loved him.
Another example is Yueru in Chinese Paladin, even though she loved Li Xiaoyao, choose to sacrifice herself so he and the girl he loved could live together because she just wanted him to be happy, regardless of who he is with.
Example 3 would be Al from Fullmetal Alchemist, who sacrifices himself near the end of the series to bring back Edward's missing arm so he can defeat their Father.
Fourth example is Yu'er sacrificing her last bit of her energy to protect Jingchou in Xuan Yuan Sword when Blood Pearl was taking everyone's lives, she said "if in this world, only one of us can survive - it has to be you."
Final example is Xiao Yao from Fairy of the Chalice, she exchanged her own life (thousand years of cultivation) to bring back the wife of the man she loved back from the dead. She had no regrets whatsoever, even though she would turn into ashes herself.
I believe these characters care so much about the person they love in such a selfless way, that they don't even spend a minute thinking about their own fate.
Sacrifice for Righteousness
These characters choose to sacrifice for someone (they may not even know well) because it was the right thing to do. These characters have a strong sense of what's right and wrong, although they may not admit it or realize it at first, but they will show it with their action when the critical time comes.
An excellent example of sacrificing for righteousness is when Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho pushed a small boy out of the way from a moving vehicle and then got hit himself and died.
Example 2 is when Chiyo in Naruto sacrificed her remaining Life Energy to resurrect Gaara, redeeming her part in the sealing of the Ichibi.
The third example is in Gurren Lagann, during the final battle with the Anti-Spiral, Kittan sacrificed himself to give the others a chance to win the battle. He did it because he knew it was the right thing to do, that it would give Dai-Gurren a chance to save the world.
Example 4 is Madoka in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, she makes a huge sacrifice with her wish - where is granted the ability to destroy all witches before they are born. She effectively becomes a god. However, she is written out of existence, unable to be known to or interact with anyone. The only person who remembers her is Homura.
Another example is Jing Tian from Chinese Paladin 3 willing to use most of his life to exchange for and revive all those who were killed by Evil Sword Immortal.
The final example is the epic scene in Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei when the brocade guards realized that Li Gexiao was all along doing the right thing, even though he was framed and was sentenced to death, but the guards realized what wrong or right meant, and in the name of justice, they decided to give him to a count of ten where they wouldn't see a thing (so they could use this time to escape), even though doing this would put them and their families in great risk.
Sacrificing for righteousness may be even harder than for love. My thoughts are, perhaps these people have a very firm beliefs. Or perhaps they were inspired by someone else's sense of justice and came to a realization on what they should be doing. As what Yumeke said, Anime characters who sacrifice for righteousness may be influenced by the samurai ethos, also known as Bushido (way of the warrior) - underlines four main concepts: Law of honor, obedience, duty, and self-sacrifice. Again, this is why I say Wuxia and many Action Anime are very similar. Wuxia (Wu literaly is the same word as Bo in Japanese) means martial arts or warrior, and the concept of chivalry, righteousness and self-sacrifice are all quite similar. (That's why Anime fans should totally try out some Wuxia series - Watch Top Recommendations here!)
Sacrifice for Repayment
Sacrificing for repayment is the third form of sacrifice I've seen in shows. Usually, these characters were formally evil and undergo a great change after they were inspired by another character (usually the hero) or was saved by someone. These characters often come back and save the hero or another good character as repayment.
An example is Gaara, after battling with Naruto and realizing that true strength came from protecting those he loved, Gaara began to realize his mistakes, and thus changed. In a later episode, he came back to save Rock Lee as he was about to be defeated. Although Gaara didn't die, he used up almost all his energy to help Rock Lee, which signifies that he was ready to sacrifice his life for it.
Another example is Vegeta from Dragonball Z. Even after he was spared by Goku after their fight on earth, he was still evil for a while but there were several times when he saved or helped the good guys. When he went to earth and lived there for a while, he gradually became good and if not for him, Gohan would have never defeated cell. He stumbled again when he accepted the Majan Power but realized his mistake and sacrificed himself (by blowing himself up) to try and save the world and his family from Buu.
My Thoughts on Sacrifices
I find self-sacrifices in both Anime and Wuxia very appealing, because I love seeing characters think for others. Also, it's something that I feel would be hard to imagine in real life, as we're not even in these situations, so it would be impossible to know what we'd do, but in a fantasy world, it's always nice to know that such nobel and selfless characters exist.
(Yu'er's sacrifice in Xuan Yuan Sword, giving her last energy to Jingchou)
Oh God, I almost forgot how much I love this show and the main character, since it's been so long since I saw it (about 4 years), I really wanted to reminisce on all the things I love about this Anime. Sadly, I really don't remember much except that Vash was wanted! So, it will be amazing to rewatch this and remember all the things I love about this!
The atmosphere of this Anime is really cool - feels like the outback areas! The series opening tells you straight away that Vash was wanted, as there were a lot of posters about him. Also, I wonder how he must feel when he was listening to all those people talk about him, especially when they have the wrong idea about him. I also adore the artwork, the character design is freaking amazing.
The fact that Vash is the biggest wanted bounty reminds me a bit of Strange Hero Yi Zhi Mei, when the main guy was also wanted for a lot of money, and people have the wrong idea about him. It's really a mystery to why Vash is wanted for 60 billion double dollars (what's the difference between regular dollars and double dollars?). I wonder what he did to be wanted.
Wow, Vash's outfit look so damn amazing, I love the red coat, glasses and he looks so badass, though because I've seen this series before, I know what kind of personality he has. I REALLY love that a hero can be the way he is, not wanting to hurt anybody.
I LOVE THAT CAT! It has such an awesome expression! I'm always crazy about cats in Anime, especially when they're cute as this one!
So, there are two girls after him or at least they want to find him. Sadly, I don't even remember what they wanted, even though I've seen this Anime before. I feel sorry for Vash that people keep thinking he's this evil guy, and when you see him for the first time, his head pops out from the ground in the cutest way. You can immediately tell how nice of a person he is.
I love how Vash is so clever, when the guys were shooting off the guns, he was just behind there letting all the bullets come out. Then, he even had those shooters make a picture of his head.
I call that CLEVER. He freaking rocks! I just also love how he's so cheerful! He would definitely be a character I'd want to be friends with. Also, what really makes me admire Vash is we can absolutely tell that he's really strong, and good at what he does (guns) - he took down those 2 guys in a matter of seconds. But, he chooses not to make himself seem tough, and he almost acts as if he's afraid and dodging, and screaming out for help, but in reality, you know that he's good and he can kill you in a matter of seconds if he wanted to. Those characters are just so freaking admirable and AWESOME that they choose not to!
I think I've seen characters like that before as well, who are so good at what they do but they choose not to reveal it or make a big deal. A Wuxia series I saw when I was young had a character like that, he was this tiny old man who seemed to not know any martial arts, who's always getting scolded because he "doesn't know anything" and is a muddle head, whereas his knowledge surpasses almost everyone there will be, but he made a choice not to ever reveal that because he regretted that he killed someone by accident, and he never wished to kill someone again. (Another reason why Wuxia has so many similarities to Anime!)
(Vash pretending that he had a big problem, whereas he really came back for the girls, and even though he looked like he was scared out of his wits trying to dodge the bullets, you know he's doing as easy as a breeze)
I found it hilarious when the bounty hunter showed up and there was another really big guy and they both were after each other, thinking each other was Vash the Stampede (while the real Vash is just sitting there pretending he doesn't know anything), and the two girls were all like, wait, he's the guy with the Mohawk, no, he's.... (Oh crap, the rumors don't match) HAHAHA, that was so hilarious.
I think I'm getting an idea about how those rumors were created, about Vash being the worst womanizer (and if you were like me and wondered what that meant, it's a selfish, narcissistic, nefarious character who needs to manipulate and use woman to feed his own childish, self serving ego) and humanoid typhoon, is because there's all these fat and nasty guys who want the bounty and accuse each other as Vash. It's just so interesting that nobody really seem to know exactly what Vash even looked like.
And I can imagine why the girl didn't even think Vash was really Vash the Stampede, because of all the rumors flying around about how scary he is, and Vash is just adorable, especially when he had the kitten expression.
I also want to comment on how much I love Vash's english voice. Johnny Yong Bosch does such a AMAZING JOB with him, making him so sound so funny and lovable at the same time. That just shows how talented he is, because his Ichigo (Bleach) has a completely different personality and he does them both in such a brilliant and believable way. I really love this voice actor and enjoy hearing the shows he's in! If there's ever more Trigun series/movies, I really do hope he can be Vash again. It would never be the same without him!
Watching this has totally rekindled my love for this Anime! I love it so much! Especially Vash's personality and the way he handles situations. Gotta love a guy who is more interested in eating and peace than anything else.
Ever seen those characters who may seem calm normally, but one little thing just cracks them? Here are ways to easily piss off or drive a character crazy!
Rukia - Bleach
Rukia loves to draw really cute pictures describing how the soul reapers work, and unfortuately, her artwork is always criticized by Ichigo as bad, which is something that really ticks her off. Poor Rukia, her art is so cute!
Jing Tian - Chinese Paladin
In Chinese Paladin 3, Tell Jing Tian how awesome, amazing and powerful White Tofu/Changqing is (since he sees him as a rival) and Jing Tian will snap. Believe me, if he was talking to White Tofu at the time, he'll throw his communication device into a pig pen covered with shit! Then, take about an hour to retrieve it again.
Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist
Call him a shrimp, short, small, tiny or anything like that, he'll fly into a rage! And I mean, a rage! He'll make an entire town run in fear. Ed hates being called short, and unfortuately, almost everyone who sees his brother, Al would think that he was the Fullmetal Alchemist, since Al is covered in metal and Ed is just this short guy on the side.
Gongsun Ling Long - Qin's Moon
Gongsun Ling Long in Qin's Moon is rather a fat but she think of herself as this beautiful, sexy lady. When we first see her, she's covered in a mask, which made me people think she was a beauty, but, let's just say when she took off the mask, even the horses grunted. Of course, Tianming is very direct and he refers to Gongsun Ling Long as fat aunt, which pisses her off greatly whenever he calls her that.
Tadase - Shugo Chara
Tadase is usually seen as a very quiet and shy type of character, but as soon as you mention the word "Prince", he will go absolutely CRAZY and want to rule, take over the world! Of course, a mere prince isn't nearly enough. He needs to be the KING! Mwhahahhhaha! (Love these characters who want to take over!)
I've been watching a lot of Anime and Wuxia, and I noticed that most Anime and Wuxia I love are ones filled with humor. Then, I started thinking. What makes these shows funny? Why do we find certain things funny? What exactly makes us laugh? I didn't really know the answer at first, so I decided to take a couple of scenes I thought were hilarious and deconstruct them, to find out exactly what I thought was funny. One of the things that distinctively stood out was expressions/voice.
I am aware there are many more ways to portray humor but this article will be just focusing on expressions and voice.
Humor through Expression and Voice
(Hilarious angry expression from One Piece)
One of the major ways to convey humor in both Anime and Wuxia is through expressions. In Anime, expressions may be an exaggerated face, or funny looking eyes and teeth that looks completely different from how they usually look. Their teeth may be huge and in zigzags and so on.
I think one of the main things that make us laugh is when something unexpected happens. That also applies to when someone says something unexpected. That also explains why we don't usually find something as funny (or we don't laugh as much) the second time. That's because we already know and was expecting it. Perhaps we find these expressions funny because we usually don't see them.
An equivalent of that in Wuxia would be when characters have funny voices, expressions on their faces and just act completely crazy or random. That can be perceived as really funny, especially if we're not used to a character acting this way. An example of that would be Jianchi in Xuan Yuan Sword. After his souls got removed, he turned into a crazy madman. Probably one of the funniest characters I've seen a long time, Jianchi's humor comes from his voice, facial expressions and madness.
Here's an example of that on an MV I made:
Sometimes, we may be expecting a character to say something, but the character says something completely the opposite (with a funny face), and if that manages to catch us off guard, we will probably find it very funny. Also, the other character's reaction can also play an important role in how funny the scene is. Sometimes, you can just tell naturally, that a reaction is funny. As you do when you tell a funny joke and you can tell how people felt with their reactions.
A great advantage of humor through expressions is that you don't need to have any prior knowledge, as jokes often reference something that requires knowledge beforehand. Watching funny expressions in Anime is like watching Mr Bean and laughing to his silliness - you don't even need to know English to get the humor. Although in Anime, you will need to know what they're saying, but at least you don't need to have knowledge about something beforehand to understand the joke.
Scene Analysis
I'm going to be analyzing a scene from Bleach, which you can watch here.
In the first scene, Ichigo was asking Urahara why didn't he tell the truth in a very serious tone. Then, Urahara unexpectedly said "exactly right", with "GUILTY happy" face! Then, Ichigo elbows him and says, "that just pisses me off". I thought the build up of comedy began with Urahara replied, then it got funnier when Ichigo reacted the way he did (with the angry face and saying it pisses me off in that tone).
Let's also look at the One Piece example. Sanji and Zoro are sleeping on the ground. They hear Nami calling them to wake up, and Sanji was being all flirty towards Zoro (asking for a kiss hahaha!), thinking it was Nami. Then the both of them wake up, and of course, Sanji was the first to call Zoro a bastard with a disgusting face that scared him half to death. Of course, Zoro returned that hilarious expression.
I'm a huge fan of funny expressions like that and I think what makes them so funny is that we weren't expecting them.
Continuing with the awesome Madoka Magica series, which I really love!
Madoka is still having dreams about everything and wakes up to find Kyubey! That makes me wonder, exactly what kind of animal is Kyubey? She almost looks like a fox and cat combined.
And seriously, this is like one of the cutest sights I've ever seen.
She's relaxing in... WAIT, HIM?!!!! Nooo! It's not a him, but a her, because Kyubey has a girl voice.
While they're at Mami's house talking more about the contract (by the way, she has a really nice looking house!), I actually thought Madoka said "Mommy", I was wondering. Where's her mother? HAHA! Damn, they always have delicious food making me crazy.
So they explain that Soul Gems are created when you make a contract with Kyubey and is the source of magic. That does look like a beautiful looking gem.
Since they skipped straight back to Madoka and her mother in the bathroom, it makes me wonder if the scene before was just a flashback or did it happen?
"Magical girls are born from wishes, witches are born from curses. Magical girls bring hope to the world. Witches bring despair." That's a really interesting quote. I think it may be more complicated than that, especially about the witches. Maybe this is one of those concepts that will really make people think.
Now they have me all curious about witches. I want to know how they came to be. It's interesting because I've seen quite a lot of show where witches are seen as good, rather than evil. That's why I am not sure if the witches here are really that evil as Kyubey makes them out to be. "Death is part of that deal". I'd be stressed too!
I have to say, the music and color of the scene (changing from yellow/gold) really gives the right mood! It brings a sense of mysteriousness.
I love how Kyubey now goes to school with Madoka and sits on her shoulder. They can even communicate in the mind!
What a great idea to communicate through the mind, so they don't look like an idiot when they speak to something invisible. That reminds me of shows where a character sees a ghost and is talking to her, and everyone else's got that "WTF" look, as if she's gone insane talking to herself. But I think even when you think to each other, you still act a bit strange.
LOL "Girls can't love girls!" Oh dear, I think she has the wrong idea... When the friend figured out they were talking through the mind.
Those desks at the school, for some reason, I thought they looked like a bunch of treadmill. I was wondering why they went in a room full of treadmills. Haha!
Right now, they're making Homura Akemi (the girl with long black hair) seem evil. But for some reason, I just don't think she is...
See that's an excellent point they brought up, that Akemi was trying to stop Kyubey from making a contract with Madoka, but if they're all fighting the same enemy, wouldn't it be good to have more? This is where I definitely think something's going on there. I feel that it's more complicated than just magical girls fighting each other.
It must be strange and awesome at the same time having a full blown convo in the mind. Especially when someone else is talking from another room.
AWWW, feeding Kyubey, SO ADORABLE! I'm gonna melt in cuteness.
It's really interesting too, I find, with Sayaka's hesitation of accepting. It makes me think she has some type of story!
I almost feel sorry for Homura, I just feel that she's trying to do the right thing.
OMFG I LOVE Madoka's costume ideas for the Magical Girl thing! I wanna see her in it. So they're off to a witch hunt to get some ideas of what it's like before they decide if they want to be Magical Girls. Things are starting to feel dark. Music is done so well, seriously! Whenever this music plays, it almost feels like this is a different show.
"I wonder, is she really a bad person?" - Madoka, about Homura. That's what I've been thinking.
I really love the way they transform into magical girls.
Now, we get to see some action! This world looks amazing, I love it's made up of such randomness (shows, scissors, random cotton heads with a mustache). That's what I call creativity! Okay, that witch... Looks quite disgusting!
That was a great fight! A grief seed (witch's egg) looks really interesting. I love all these items they have in the show. So the grief seed can restore the fight. That's the reward she was talking about!
I'm on Madoka's side on that one about wanting to be friends with Homura.
I definitely think Madoka's going to be making that wish soon because she loved the idea of saving people. Here, I end you with Madoka's adorable outfit!
Digimon is one of the first Anime I ever saw and truly loved for its story, character development and values. To this day, it's still a show I cherish and love, and I've decided to rekindle this love by rewatching Tamers, one of my favorite seasons.
Poor Calumon is being chased. I remember the first time I saw it, I was absolutely blown away by the cutness of this DIgimon! I still love him to death today, because of how little and adorable he is, and his voice fits so well.
Straight away, you can see something huge is happening with the huge Digimon chasing after Calumon and how he was blown away... To the REAL WORLD!
OMFG those Digimon cards that Takato is playing! I got ones exactly like that. I love how they were able to make Digimon card merchandise that looked exactly like the ones in the show! It would make you feel something awesome when you got them in your hands.
Oh dear, when those deck of cards all fall on the ground, that reminds me of when something just drops out of your hand and fly EVERYWHER! How embarrassing, especially in public! Oh, I see the blue card! THIS IS WHEN THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!
Takato scans the blue card in the device. Sometimes, things like this makes me wish Digimon was real! (Not the ones who wanna take over the world, of course!)
I have to say, I really love Takato's voice. It fits him so well! He has that softness in him.
Whoa, I'm feeling deja vu when Takato walks into his class and his teacher speaks. I think this was a coincidence but Mrs Asaji is voiced by Lara Jill Miller, who also did Kari Kamiya's voice. I know this has been brought up before but some people, including myself, wonder if she's Kari. I would say no, because she seems to be a bit more stern and serious, and Kari always seemed happier. But anyway, it's nice to feel those familiar feelings! It's kind of strange that she even looks a little like Kari! I think if she had more of Kari's personality, I would so think it's her.
I'm loving Takato's drawing of Guilmon!
It's so amazing that he references Agumon! Argh damn, I would hate it if my teacher crept up behind me and made a comment on my drawing! Haha, Takato was like... "It's a Digimon, don't you know anything!" That's so brilliant! Poor Takato.
ROFL Reddinofiremon! That would've been one kickass name used for the Digimon! Guilmon has to be one of the most clever names! It sounds cute!
We see Jeri for the first time here too. She has a cool looking puppet on her.
Now, there's an organization that I forgot the name of, who are investigating Digimon activity.
A little surprise is waiting for Takato when he gets back to his tree house! His card machine thing turned into a DIGIVICE!!!!! Looks like a storm is brewing up and poor Calumon is so sad! He wants to play!!!! I love this little guy!
Seeing the bakery reminds me of the awesome pictures I found of a real bakery in Japan that this was inspired from! I love how in Digimon, locations are based on real places. That makes me want to go there and stand in the bakery and dream of the show I love, and take plenty of pictures!
LOL the father "Hi son, what did you learn", I'd say that too! Who tells their parents what they learned at school?
When I hear Takato saying "it's not from this world" about the Digivice, I got a shiver up my spine! It was this thought-provoking! I wonder how I would react if this happened!
AWESOME, GUILMON IS GONNA COME ALIVE! (The digivice is scanning the information from Takato's drawing). Then, a digiegg appears in the Digivice. ("TAKATO!!!" - his mother yelling. I sure know how that feels)
It's amazing seeing Guilmon coming alive and Takato's dream of Rika and Renamon. I love her voice too, she has such an elegant voice!
A person in this world who owns a Digimon is called a Digimon Tamer. Takato is dreaming, but it's not just a dream I can tell you! I love the concept here that Digimon was a TV Show in their world, and for some reason, it was real.
It must be cool seeing your parents work on bread downstairs! Takato's looking outside from the balcony!
I love Calumon's innocence, he doesn't know what's going on at all!
As to be expected, Takato's friends would not believe him when he's trying to tell him about the Digimon. GUILMON'S DIGIEGG HATCHED!
Whoa, another hit of Dejavu. The lady reminds me of Yolei! Probably because of the voice and the way her hair is shaped with the glasses. She'll probably look different if she takes the glasses off.
OMFG TERRIERMON! I never knew Henry already had his Digimon in Episode 1. LOL Suzie calling him Hendwy. Though I would've really loved to see how the other two first got their Digimon!
Where are you Guilmon? It's funny from what we see of Guilmon so far, he almost looks evil! But we all know that's not the case as he's the most adorable thing ever! Takato arrives at a place and something's happening! I think it's going to be the birth of Guilmon!
OH MY GOD HIS VOICE! SO ADORABLE! He's damn well perfect I'll tell ya! He's sniffing like a little puppy. Seriously, he is adorable. I love Guilmon so freaking much. Oops, Guilmon just breathes fire. He looks at Takato in such a cute way. Damn, we'll have to wait till episode 2 to see how they interact. He's so playful and cute.
