kaiji gets political philosophical political

kaiji another post you may think
i think i may have to do a post for nearly every episode

but we pick up where we left off kaiji has just crossed the beams to get to the other side
along the way he is reminded that
that beam is an allegory fro life where you are alone in you walk
and you must learn to support yourself
and will and drive yourself

he is told that the game and the prize is forfeit
because they asked for the power to be shut off
and they complied albeit late

kaiji argues his point that they were not made aware of this and some people still got shocked and lost their lives over this delay

and there is an old man who seems to be the chief
and he agrees with kaiji and agrees to allow him another chance to win the money
and possibly more if he does another gamble

but as he takes kaiji to the other room he drops some gems

and on the way they walk
and then they see in the passage way the previous contestants writhing in agony
they clearly need medical attention
but the old man explains that he paid them to stay behind and would give bonuses to those paid
special attention by him which consisted of him prodding them in their broken bones
with his walking stick

and he explains using the people as compelling imagery
that world is full those with groans of resentment
and their groans support the luxuries of a few
and understanding that he told him self that he will never help anyone else
and that even though he has money and plenty of it he will never help anyone
he then asks kaiji
why
which is also asking us why
and prods someone in their broken bone
that whilst he fiddles with his broken leg the person feels pain but he does not feel pain and nor does kaiji

and that it does not matter how much another suffers
for the only thing that matters is his own happiness

is this the case
is this the case for us
is this what privilege entails

for how many of us feel the hunger of another
the pain
or despair of another
me may sympathize
but we do not feel it
do we go on hunger strikes for those with out food
do we spend our time with the less fortunate
do we adopt the children who are abandoned
do we heal the sick
and why do we not

and then the old man explains that the guy wanted him to hurt him more
for they put some money near him and he instantly grabbed out to it and said in between his cries my money
and that summed up the more pain the more money they would receive
 then he paraphrases


and the money is the why
and that people will go through a great lot for money
and i am looking at this
that this money they think empowers them weakens them
they are sprawled along the floor like fish upon a boats deck
caught by the fishermen hoping not to be gutted

and that the rich make use of this advantage
forcing others to serve for the rest of their lives whilst they live in comfort

and that kings do not become kings by themselves

ponder this

for if the poor rise up declaring they do not want money the king will be overthrown
but the poor want money so they can be kings themselves
which just strengthens the kings position

and they cannot escape the fruitless paradox because the king cannot be destroyed as long as the poor want money
and the poor will continue to be bound
and the king will provide just enough comfort that uprisings do not occur
regardless of how hard the king drives them

and after that he is led by another to play a game called e card
where there are ten cards in total

a citizen a emperor and a slave
the emperor can beat the citizens but not the slave
the citizen can beat the slave but not the emperor the citizen draws with the citizen
the slave loses to the citizens
but can beat the emperor for it is has nothing to lose
it is the have not
the oppressed one
but those with nothing to lose are said to be the most formidable

which reminds me of a line from a poem
that we only ever oppress those who are powerful

to see what the clip this comes from watch the link below from the 17 minute mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBZGTgzCMxQ

this episode got me thinking what position am i in
am i the citizen above the have not
or are citizens just fancy or nicely dressed slaves
like house slave and field slave


and this is the world explained in so few lines
for people declare politicians to be corrupt yet
they then advocate for someone else to run for the same office


the power behind money and the king is the same belief and desire

for people say money is the root of all evil
then say if i had the money i would do this and that

and that these lifelines are given down by your oppressors and you think it would be for your benefit
you would not want the ladder you are stepping on to become autonomous for you would fall
the same with those in power and the kings

and some people are waking up that replacing parts does not affect the whole
beheading one king to then replace them with another
for the system is still intact

for it is not solely our fault for we have been sold ideas of princes and princess from young
with all the poor clambering on another to be kings not realizing
what is the king without the citizens

what is a general without their soldiers

what is a striker without their teammates


and that when you stop positioning yourself to see other you claim to be above you and reach out to those who are next to you
then things change

philosophical anime aka Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor part 2

i did say this is the best anime i had seen
and we pick up after the boat incident
and he has incurred more debt via the interest on the borrowed money

and is now working in a convenience
store to pay of the debts

but is haunted by shadows and specter of debt collectors
coming to get him at any moment


he is visited by this man again but this time with a more humble approach
and will let him clear his current debt and maybe get more as with gamble of before

so kaiji goes to the location
and sees some of the people from the boat
and a guy from his convenience store
and the guy he saved

who is not a betrayer but extremely grateful to kaiji
for saving him and once again they do not know what the gamble is until the very last minute

they put in coffin like boxes and then transported
and then they are beset by their test
to walk across a thin beam
but they cannot touch it with their hands or instant disqualification
and with that they are told to start

they see how ludicrous this is
they are not playthings for the rich who are jeering them on from the sidelines
greyhounds to be bet on

but they are reminded that the fist one two across get 20 million and 10 million respectively
and with that one person sets off before kaiji
and then the others set of but before long a person falls off but the fall is not igh enough to kill them but is high enough to break bone and injure contestants upon falling

kaiji is gaining on the person ahead of him but cannot overtake him because the beam is to narrow
he is then notified
by the jeering bureaucrats and elite millionaires and heiress
to push
kaiji denies in the name of humanity
or his morality he will not push

put looking left he sees a person push crying whilst doing so and apologizing
and then it is repeated again

the kaiji is tempted to follow suit but refrains but sees the person behind ready to push him and he tries to reason the struggles with him then they both lose their balance and are disqualified

but would we have done a kaiji or pushed like the others
they are led into a holding room whilst waiting for the games
and with every passing game you saw an increase in the loss of humanity
for in the first group was 6 out of 10 survivors
then there was 5
then 4
then one

and then the twist they find out they are not getting the money unless they do one more gamble
for host rationals
they are freeloaders wasters
who have done nothing to be rewarded with such money
and that they should earn it

which ties in with wage slavery
that the only commodity some people have of value is their time
but for these people
their lives were currency

and the next gamble was worse than before
whereas previously the fall would injure them
this fall would kill them

but they embark after a rallying of the troops by kaiji
so they embark


with no safety net and the prize of 20 million yen at the end of this stretch

but this is when it gets crazy

they have even higher elites watching them this time and getting a kick out of seeing these people put themselves on the line

but that host thinks he is helping these people
for he calls them trash who have never followed through with anything in their lives
wasting away and wasting life
and they are in this cotton wool illusion

kind of like this bag of nuts contains nut situation
and some would say it is darwinistic
law of the jungle

but others may see it as he is trying to unlock inner potential
and them dying on this bridge is in a nobler fashion than it would be if they died in a gutter
or from alcohol poisoning
or drug addiction

they soon after seeing one person fall to their deaths

want to quit and ask for the electricity to be turned off
i forgot to mention that that was a deterrent for the contestants
to just hug the pole and shuffle along

the host retorts no
and that these people are quitters
always looking for the easy way out

and to back out of anything

and soon after the refusal
three are left
kaiji
the guy from his work place and the guy he saved

but here is where your heart strings or essence is tugged
for ishida the guy he saves knows he cannot go any further and will die

he offers kaiji his ticket so he can claim ishidas prize so as to bail his wife out of debt
and give her some happiness and peace he could not give her
since he has been a useless husband

and kaiji does not want to take it insisting that he is spouting nonsense but will make it
but then is persuaded to take it
kaiji carries on towards the goal
and after awhile turns round
and
finds ishida not behind  him
he had fallen

he had fallen silently
he had covered his mouth
so as not to make a peep as to not disturb kaiji
kaiji reflects on this as do i

for a man who was not strong enough to make it to the end
he
was more than brave enough
to quiet himself for kaiji
put others before himself
and become more than the alcoholic coward
in debt up to his eyeballs

it just had me ponder on the strength
it must take
for you to be at the precipice of oblivion
or forty story fall
and to put yourself after someone else
was touching


wow

and so kaiji and sahara his colleague

carry on sahara makes it to the end first and he he sees the people
the audience watching him
and kaiji feels something is wrong
and tells sahara not to go
sahara does not listen he opens the window and is blow back by the draft
to his death


now i am feeling like wow he got to the end and he was robbed but his death can save kaiji
who then sees that there is a path which seemed invisible before
is now visible a glass stair case suspended
and with a leap of faith kaiji gets to the top

but he still does not get the money on the grounds that he forfeited

philosophical anime aka Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor part 1

the best anime i have seen hands down
and i am only half way in season one


quick pros
and cons for those of you who want to see a psychological
philosophical
potential best anime ever
after or during or before reading this

so pro
excellent story so far
narrative
metaphors
drawing style

cons
drawing style may put you off
a lot of groans or shouting
tears
will have you wanting to be violent to characters

ok now to the story
remember how i did an article on neets

yeah well this guy is that

but this guy changes his life^^^

depends how you see it positively or negatively
so he lets him know that he has inherited the debts of a friend who has gone missing
and he has no job and no income
and he is propositioned that he can go on this cruise and gamble
and if he wins clear up the debt and even make more money to begin a new life

since the debt he has now inherited
wil take him eleven years pay if he
one had a job and two had a good job
and three used a sizable amount of it to pay off debts

what is the worst that could happen

the suspicious thing is ^^
he will not tell him what it is about or the penalty for losing is
or will tell him what the gambling will consist of
will it be russian roulette
black jack
21
one armed bandit

the guy says he cannot tell him because it would give whoever came on board first an unfair advantage

so they arrive on the boat and are checked to see if they are the real participants
and on the boat is a thousand pus people

then they are given the rules but only once

and they are given two envelopes
but first they are told to come up and choose the amount of money they wish to borrow
but they will pay interest of ten percent every ten minutes
and the game lasts for 4 hours
so most people pick the lowest amount from one million yen
then one guy picks ten
and then our main character kaiji
follows suit

they then find out that the game is restricted rock paper scissors

and that they have four of each card in their envelopes
and in envelope b they have three stars
and the aim of the game is to be rid of all your cards
and not be under three stars
but you must not discard your cards
and their will be no cheating
and if you have not used all your cards by the end you will automatically fail
and once you use a card it is automatically taken from your hand
you place the card face down once playing and once you say set you
may not change card
and your stars are your life
you must wage a minimum of a star for each game

and the losers will be taken into the next room

the host said he would answer no question but the contestants grew wild over
what will happen if they lose
and this is where the sinister specter was seen
he called them trash and explained all they need to do was win

the games began and within a few moments a few people were sent into the other room

and kaiji was befriended by a guy called funai
he declared that they could play for a draw and keep their stars in contact
kaiji proceeded and all went well until
 funai produced a card to win
he then assured him that it was to make it seem to the judges they were not cheating
but then on the consecutive round he did the same
kaiji seeing he had been dooped and now with one star

look at funai grinning with his star^^^
and kaiji ran at him demanding his star back
for being betrayed
the judges relayed that no rules were broken
funai walked away gleefully

at this moment i am wishing for karma to come back for funai
for the audience sees themselves as kaiji
and the sense of being in his shoes becomes daunting
we find out or here rumours
that if you lose you lose you are sent to do manual labour for 15 years
with such intensity that most people become cripples

so kaiji looks around and sees the very same person who put him there
via his debt
he chases after him
most people would of beat him within an inch of his life
but kaiji decided they should team up and since they both had one star he devised they find someone with two stars
they do and he is in the break room with the other people crying about their doom because they have one star or two stars and no cards

and his debt friend goes to the toilet to find kaiji
and kaiji is like where is the third member
and you have one card
and he is like
i let the other guy hold it

they run in search of the guy
and then they find him at a table ready to betray them
and they tell him to stop but he sees them and then says set
and loses

he then comes back to the group begging for forgiveness

i was like two betrayals
kaiji not having much luck here
he then devises more schemes such as buying all of one type of card and even wins on separate occassions enough stars to advance to the next round proceeds to hand them out evenly within the group

meanwhile time is ticking
 and to cut the story short it is the end of the game he gives his money and his stars over to his comrades

who seem him get taken away to the next room
the manual labour room
and they promise they will save him when the auction and selling of stars commence
and he is in the next room they strip him naked and throw him in the room
with the other losers

he wonders if he has just made a mistake

he meet some others another guy optimistic
that his partner will save him
but their is one pessimistic savvy guy

and with the pessimistic guy talking saying he is foolish to believe in friendship
and what does his friends have to benefit from saving him
made me think would i have put my self out on a limb like that with trust in another
and would most morality fade away when presented with a basic life or death situation

and then the moment of truth comes and the survivors are allowed to exchange stars
the optimistic guy realises his partner is not there and has betrayed him and is having a whale of a time sipping champagne whilst he is on the verge of hell

now kaiji is like it is different for me i have carried these other men on my back and saved them numerous times i am their leader
and his friends are mobbed by people outside offering them five million for one star they agree

but then one of them declares they want to save kaiji
but the one who betrayed him before betrays him again saying do not do it
for if we do not save him we can sell these stars and get out of debt and come out of here with twenty million to share
whereas if we save him we will be in debt

by now i am like nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
they stab him in the back now
he is banging on the glass
saying save me
they betrayer convinces kaijis friend the one responsible for kaiji being there to abandon him
and not to worry they will never see him again

making me really question myself and others
it is easy to sit back and say we will not betray others
but are we sure others will not betray us if we do not betray them first

kaiji is distraught and is abandoned
meanwhile pessimistic guys ride come for him
reiterating to kaiji
friendship and word oaths mean nothing

kaiji declares he will not give up
optimistic guy also distraught says you can say that but that will not change anything

kaiji leaps at the man now leaving
throwing punches left right and center even fighting the guards

they restrain him

and pessimistic guy is nearly home free when he checks his back
and sees in the fight kaiji stole his ticket

for the guy only had seven million on him
and stars are worth five million
so that would not save him
he would need something of value of benefit
and hiding outside would give him no guaruntees
and since they were naked the hiding place of the stash was in the bandage

and so kaiji was released
by now i am rooting for the underdog kaiji

and the betrayer looks behind him and sees the one he sent to hell return

kaiji gladly gives him what he deserves
honestly he did not do enough
and then he grabbed his stars from the two comrades and took their money

and used it to save the optimistic guy

wrapping it all up nicely or did it

but from these episodes
i was questioned about my instincts
for teamwork may seem the best option but is it really teamwork
and humans are social animals but not to be blinded by it
and could i really be kaiji
and put my own safety behind
for the sake of another

and is selfishness our true face or is kaijis face ours