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The Laws of the Universe: The Age of Elohim

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When I got a “For Your Consideration” feeler for an anime film with the title The Laws of the Universe: The Age of Elohim, “I thought how can I resist this one?” I had to see how another culture would look at the God of the Jewish and Christian traditions. As expected, this is a religiously syncretic story that brings together Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism—and creates a sort of cosmological Star Wars. (Much of the visual imagery is very much evocative of the Star Wars films.)

This film takes place 150 million years ago, during the second time Lord Elohim came to earth. (The first was 330 million years ago, and is related in another film in this anime series). During this time humans and aliens lived together peacefully on earth. But when a meteor (actually a bomb) is heading toward earth, Yaizael, a female soldier from the planet Vega, arrives to save the planet. It turns out the bomb was part of a plan by the reptilians of Centaurus Beta to destroy the earth. When the reptilians invade, Yaizael leads an army of humans and angels (including Michael and Lucifer) to defeat the invaders and save earth. Also involved is a healer named Amor, who looks like the traditional depictions of Jesus.

It is interesting to see how these various religious threads are woven together. Lord Elohim is said to be an “incarnation of the primordial Buddha of the Universe.” The concept of reincarnation also plays a part in the story because earth is seen as a spiritual training ground, where souls receive the teaching of Lord Elohim about good and evil. The central part of Elohim’s teaching is justice as it plays out within a diverse world. It is caring for others. It is standing for what is right. It is about self-sacrifice.

The underlying message of the film is that if we are to survive as a planet, and if we are to prove ourselves worthy of rebirth, we need to stand for justice for all people. That is a message that is as important today as it was 150 million years ago.

Star Wars Visions: A Whole New World

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As a Star Wars fan, I’ve grown accustomed to a certain style of storytelling. Not necessarily because I wanted to… but because I knew that that was just how things were going to be.

Disney bought Star Wars and they had a formula that they wanted to maintain.

This was most evident when Disney first purchased Lucasfilm back in 2014. While the excitement was high for fans about the return of the franchise, the fallout was swift. With the House of Mouse’s desire to control its properties, any books, video games, and comics that were released under the Star Wars label (other than the six films) were no longer considered ‘canon’ and disappeared. (Sigh. Where did you go Dark Forces?) With a single blast from their proverbial Death Star, Disney vaporized such beloved characters as Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn and more from the Star Wars universe. While some of those characters have been reintroduced over the years, fans were left angered as their favourite tales were deemed unworthy of the next generation of stories. Admittedly, there’s certainly an argument for this decision (after all, Disney couldn’t possible may all these conflicting stories work within their continuity). However, it also limited the space for any real originality to the universe.

Then, along came Star Wars: Visions.

Now available on Disney+, Star Wars: Visions is a 9-episode series of shorts produced by six different Japanese animation studios. Directed in differing styles of anime by different directors, each episode feels like a completely new and exciting interpretation of the galaxy far, far away. 

What’s most impressive though is that, with the release of these shorts, Disney has injected a breath of fresh bacta into the Star Wars tank. Unhampered by the burden of ‘canon’, these visions rely on something much more important: creativity. Like a bolt of lightning, these simple stories have energized a world which had become a little stale. (Aside from Baby Yoda, of course.) For once, Disney allowed their storytellers to develop their own… well… vision for their closely guarded universe, create unique characters and styles that showcase the talents of their artists. Though it’s safe to say that there were certain boundaries given, every short differs wildly from one another and challenges our assumptions about the Star Wars universe. 

A samurai protects a small village from a Sith Lord.

A band of youth embark on a dangerous mission to rescue their friend from Jabba the Hutt.

Two twin siblings battle to redeem (or recruit) the other.

Each individual narrative is fully enclosed with no reliance on the other episodes. That gives each storyteller the freedom to simply dip their toe into the sands of Tatooine without being burdened by larger narratives or story arcs. Most importantly though, they allow the animators to tell their stories in their own voice in their own way. From Solo to Rogue One, there are multiple stories in recent years that site Disney’s penchant to control their IP and has resulted in the firing of numerous directors. However, with Visions, the House of Mouse has turned off the targeting computer and let their animators have the freedom that they need.

And the results are stunning. 

Featuring some truly eye-popping animation, it is refreshing to see the universe stretched with its interpretations. From their use of colour and style to their philosophical conversations, every individual episode feels like a masterclass in anime storytelling. (In addition, the voice cast features some impressive talent as well, including Shang Chi‘s Simu Liu, Henry Golding, George Takei, Alison Brie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and, of course, Tamuera Morrison returning as Boba Fett.)

In this way, although not quite the restoration of what was lost, these new visions of the Star Wars universe feel like Disney has given a gift to the fans. 

And not just the animators either.

Star Wars: Visions feels like a long overdue gift to those who have been clamouring to hear their own voice represented in the Star Wars universe. Frankly, this begs the question of what could be next? Could there be Star Wars stories told from an African perspective? Indian? Middle-Eastern? The possibilities are endless… and every one of them has the potential to bridge the cultural gap in storytelling as well. No, Visions hasn’t changed the game—but it has provided an opportunity for the world to share in a property that had previously only been told from one perspective.

So, maybe something old really can be new again.

Star Wars: Visions is available on Disney+ on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021

Ne Zha: Choose Your Future

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These days, anime films do not get as much attention as they deserve. Hopefully, however, Ne Zha might just change that. With its compelling story and beautiful animations, Ne Zha is is worth checking out. What makes this movie so good in my eyes? What does the plot of the movie have to do with this generation of children? Let’s dive right into this fiery review. 

Directed by Jiaozi, Ne Zha tells the story of Ne Zha, a demon boy that goes from outcast to a hero. Picking up a few years before Ne Zha’s birth, the film introduces us to Tianzun, a Supreme God who has two immortal disciples Taiyi and Shen who are tasked with subduing the Chaos Pearl. Despite their best efforts, only Tianzun is able to seal the pearl away and separate it into two parts: the Demon Pearl and the Spirit Pearl. After Shen fights Taiyi in order to steal the Spirit Orb, Ne Zha is born with the Demon Pearl instead of the Spirit Pearl. As a result, Ne Zha’s parents lie to him about his demonic nature. to make him happy to hide his demonic nature. As he grows, Taiyi decides to train the impatient and stubborn Ne Zha in magical skills. When Ne Zha decides to abandon his training in order to hunt a demon, his decision results in damage to the village, causing them to fear him greatly. As a result, those around him must decide whether or not to hunt the estranged Ne Zha or see him for his true value.

Ne Zha has a very clear message that you choose your own faith! Throughout the movie, Ne Zha has been bound by faith and he cannot do anything to change it. However, Ne Zha reminds us that, no matter what destiny does not decide who we are or what is the outcome, we decide and make those choices ourselves. Personally, I especially loved the moment when Ne Zha told Ao Bing that ‘ when faith comes at you swinging, you swing harder’. Here, the film uses Ao Bing to remind us not to give up and push yourself to make your own choices instead. 

As mentioned earlier, Ne Zha also relates to this generation of kids and adolescents by tackling the issue of bullying as Ne Zha struggles with the feat that as the kids and other villagers would attack him. Interestingly, from a religious stand point, Ne Zha also echoes the Biblical story of Cain and Abel through the relationship between Taiyi and Shen. Blessed with by the supreme God, Taiyi is clearly the favoured one (as was Abel). This causes tension with Shen who, similar to Cain, also attempts to kill his brother to steal the blessing for himself. 

Ne Zha has great visuals, amazing animation and the fight scenes are well executed, especially during the final battle. The characters are loveable and the audience forms an especially deep connection to the main protagonist who wishes to be loved by the villagers without fear. (At times, for the English dub at least, there are times the audio doesn’t match with the scenes, making it difficult to watch, but not everything can be perfect.) Overall, Ne Zha was a fun experience and I do recommend this movie to anyone who loves animation. As Ne Zha would say, the film is a fire experience.   

Ne Zha is available on Blu-Ray or VOD now.

Only Yesterday – Finally Coming to North America

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“To be a butterfly the caterpillar has to become a chrysalis first even if it never for a moment wanted to become one.”

Only Yesterday is a 1991 anime film from Studio Ghibli that is just now being released in North America as a 25th Anniversary Edition. It is a coming of age story that combines the story of Taeko as a 27 year old on a trip to the countryside with the story of her “fifth grade self along for the trip.” As an adult she relishes the trip to the country, using her vacation from her Tokyo job to work in the fields with relatives. But she also has vivid memories of herself as a child learning about menstruation in school and being embarrassed when boys thought she might be on her period. The awkwardness of her young self really hasn’t gone away even though she seems more in charge of her life. But a developing relationship with a local young man sends her back in her memories as she tries to sort out the empty places in her life.

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Like many Studio Ghibli films, this may have entertainment value for children, but it is really more geared to adults. Taeko senses that she is at a point in her life that, although she is not unhappy, she lacks fulfillment. She may be physically grown up, but she still needs an emotional growth spurt to be truly mature. Part of the work she does in the country is harvesting safflowers, a yellow flower that is used to make red dye for rouge. That points to the kind of unexpected transitions that are found in nature and in our lives.

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I appreciate coming of age stories that are not about sexual awakenings of adolescents, but rather about the internal maturity of becoming an adult—a process that happens over and over throughout our lives. Both the child Taeko and the adult Taeko are in the midst of such transitions. For the child, the first thoughts of romance and the exasperation of boys have her unsettled. For the adult, not having found a place in the world where she truly feels happy also creates that off-balance feeling. This is not a bemoaning of losing one’s childhood, but rather a celebration of the various stages of life that opens for us as we grow. The fifth grade Taeko is always with the adult Taeko, and that just makes her more complete. As she begins to move into yet a new transformation—a new chrysalis stage—she may not know what she will become, but it is sure to be an exciting new life.

Photos courtesy OnlyYesterdayFilm.com