Death Note

Death Note. A weapon of murder.

An hour ago, I completed the Death Note manga series.

I was speechless.

The series is written so masterfully, that it is simply beautiful. In my view, it should go down as one of best crime thrillers ever written, even if it is a manga. It is no wonder that this series is so popular and in the process has spawned an anime series and movie adaptations. The use of a Death Note as a plot device was absolute genius, just because the Death Note is virtually a completely indirect murder weapon and only the most elite of detectives (notably L) could begin the difficult and risky battle with Light Yagami; owner of the notebook.

The thing about the manga that struck me most was how it forces the reader to acknowledge that there are some people they may have wished dead whether it is in the past or present. It also furthers on the debate of how far should criminals be punished (as some states and countries still enforce the death sentence). And finally, it reveals a little insight into the human psyche of the population and how an God like ideology rises as a result of the 'cleansing' of criminals. The parallels between the behavior of the people as Kira rises in Death Note and the behavior of the German people as the Nazi regime rose is ridiculously numerous; it suggests that if Kira were to exist in today's real world, the world wide reaction to Kira would re-enact that of the manga perfectly. I did find that I had some respect for Light Yagami as not only are his goals quite noble and sincere, he is an intelligent and witty mastermind capable of evading even the toughest of detectives.

Death is a debt we all must pay.

Euripides

Nonexistence of Egos in Paradise Thesis

I was invited to attend Creation fest few days ago by my very Christian friend. I enjoyed it immensely, the music was talented and diverse with R&B, Rap, Reggae, Rock and all sorts being pumped out of the stage and cafes. I met many nice people and I kind of found myself admiring the 'purity' of their intentions. Of course there was a sunday service, and an American preacher made his characteristically very charismatic speech about sin and nonbelieving and so on. So he asked the audience something along the lines of: "Is there anyone out there who has accepted the message of Jesus into their hearts? If so put your hand up. If you are afraid to put your hand up in front of other Christians, would you face telling colleagues at work you are a Christian? Put your hand up and we will pray for you." And then he points them over to someone giving out 'Beginner's Bibles'.

So how did I react to his speech? I listened carefully to his every word and ran this really annoying little debate in my head. Unfortunately for the 'converters' of Christianity, I made the rational decision that I do NOT have to believe in God or Jesus in order to be a good man. Buddhism has proved that spectacularly. Of course Jesus most likely did exist, but merely as a philosopher. His teachings are special, but not any more special than those of Confucious for example. And the belief in God is irrational, leading to Christians being very intolerant of proved fact such as Darwin's Natural Selection. So I left the festival unaffected, with my 'own beliefs' completely rock solid, like the house built on the rock!

Nevertheless, Christianity is a pretty good method of control for unintelligent and insecure people who would otherwise lead an uncaring, hedonistic life. The theological fear of God and hell etc. ensures total control. Why do you think the story of Jesus bearing all our sins on the cross is regularly preached? It means the worst of the worst will redeem themselves and become a positive addition to society. In fact, I sincerely believe my friend would have been off the rocks in depression and perhaps violence if it wasn't for Christianity. Even so, he is still insecure at the present. You don't usually see the snapping point in a person but with this friend of mine, you can imagine it quite accurately.

I haven't even reached the point of this post yet actually. NEPT as I like to call it is kind of a little formulation of my ideas into English. Being quite abstract, I guess the best way to understand NEPT is to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion and End of Evangelion, read many many forums on the web, leave a couple of months, watch it again and then read more forums. Then you may end up with the same mindset as me, wear Misato's Cross around your neck all 365 days of the year (it arrived in the post a week ago yay) and think stupidly that you are the wisest man on the planet.

Anyway here we go (work in progress by the way!):

Nonexistence of Egos in Paradise Thesis

1: The Kingdom of Heaven is believed to be the absolute paradise.

2: When a person dies, they may enter the Kingdom of Heaven if they believe in Jesus.

If heaven is an absolute paradise, then no 'sin' exists. For as long as humans are separate egos, it is not possible for a 'universal perception' to exist. Therefore perceptions differ and clash on certain aspects. This clash of perception gives rise to the concept of 'good and evil'; the latter often referred to as sin. Hence if humans enter Heaven as humans (egos), Heaven cannot be called an absolute paradise. And therefore that paradise is not the residence of God.

In order to enter the so called Heaven, the ego must break down. Therefore, nothing human nor conscious exists in Heaven. Only God.

God is dead. God hasn't died nor has he always been dead. He is death itself.

Madlax/Death Note

Madlax is apparently a metaphor for the winged insect that flies into the flame of a candle at its own peril. Not sure how this ties into the series but I assume the flame refers to the malice that lies within every human. After all to be human is to be aware of the separation of what we believe to be good and evil.

In any case, the makers of Noir made Madlax. And in short, they made it a whole different ball game. Where Noir is a fairly linear storyline which simply focuses on death and sin, Madlax decides to look at why humans war with one another and commit the atrocities we often see in the media. Unfortunately that is not simple since...that is partly what makes us human. So a 26 ep series cannot possibly make light of that surely? Possible...but not this one. But don't get me wrong, it is a superb series which makes a fair few points. Just a little complicated to follow. Not for the average joe.

Of course, Noir was brilliant for two reasons, one better than the other. One is the story. And the other, most of all, is the music. The reason is Yuki Kajiura. So when she came back to do Madlax it just had to go well even if the studio screwed up the story. And they didn't. So all's extra good. But on to the main point, the music is absolutely fantastic as usual with beautiful vocals and plenty of violin, flute and piano put in there for good measure. My personal favourites are Margaret, Lost Command, Saints and Madlax. One of the funny things I noticed was how the some songs paralleled with some of Noir's works, especially the song 'Love'. For lovers of 'Canta Per Me', Margaret filled that bit.

The only drawback of the series 'Madlax' is a slight lack of time given to the most emotional scenes. Which is a shame since that is what Yuki Kajiura's music is all about. Despite that, Madlax was enjoyable to watch. Just had a lack of impact hence the reason why I'm writing about it approximately a month after watching it!

And I'm reading Death Note for the moment. It's good.