YO!!! How are you? I'm fine and I'm fired up to write more on Princess Principal!!!!! OH YEAH!!! Sorry, Buta Yarou movie, the publishing of that post will need to be postponed. Oops! I accidentally revealed it. Never mind.
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| More SPY TIME!!! |
So, yeah...I actually planned to talk about the Buta Yarou movie after
my blog post on Princess Principal but damn, I blame historical context in this anime. I love to study history a lot. This anime gives me that "kick" to get me going to study 19th century Europe (which is in the 1800s) once again (and even deeper than before). Damn, there's a lot of things happening at that point according to my research. It is TIME for my deep dive after
my last anime deep dive!!!
WARNING:-
SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven't watched it and plan to watch it without anyone being the spoiler, please DON'T CONTINUE READING!!!
P.S. If you want to be spoiled, well, go ahead and read it. You HAD been warned. Don't blame me for being spoiled if you INSIST on continuing to read this post.
Introduction
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| Smoky London... |
This anime is set in a fictional analogue of England called Albion. Why that name? thinking hard...oh, I got it by simple research. Will talk about it later. Back to the story, there is a mysterious and fictional substance called "Cavorite", which is a product of some other work and in this story, it is monopolized by the Kingdom of Albion and enabled them to construct a fleet of heavily armed airships that made Albion the dominant power in the world.
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| Albion... |
Just like the references to that time in Europe, Albion became split because of the London Revolution where the lower classes attempted to overthrow the royal family. Hmmm...that reminds of that king and the gu...OK, stop! I will reserve it for the next section. Anyway, eventually, the two sides reached a stalemate, and a great wall was erected through the middle of London, splitting Albion into two nations: the Commonwealth and the Kingdom. Well, that's the background of the story. I've decided to talk about it once again although I did briefly talked about it.
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| Let's go! |
My Takeaway
1. Albion & the U.K.
Ooh...Politics...Me and politics...we are kinda in a love-hate relationship. It's complicated. Ahem! Back to topic! So, the name Albion is the earliest-known name for the island of Britain. Why? According to
Encyclopedia Britannia:
It was used by ancient Greek geographers from the 4th century BC and even earlier, who distinguished “Albion” from Ierne (Ireland) and from smaller members of the British Isles.
So yeah, that's it. Oh, BTW, this name is hardly used (or practically obsolete) by people. As I continue watching this anime, it kinda reminds me of the
Glorious Revolution and
Oliver Cromwell, which so happens that the Commonwealth (a.k.a. Republicans) vs the Kingdom (Royalist) exist. Woah...O.O
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| Oh...riots are coming... |
Ahem! Anyway, although this incident happens in the mid-1600s while the anime happens on the late 1800s and early 1900s, the existence of Republicans and Royalist is prevalent throughout the anime and throughout the period between
English Civil War. Oh, why Glorious Revolution, you asked? Well, I dun really know why. Maybe its perhaps for being one of the few revolutions in England that have changed England fundamentally, just like in the anime. Also, the wall of London that split the city into two resembles the split of Germany after World War 2, which I will talk about in later segments.
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That division...
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2.The 19th century Europe
19th century Europe...It's dirty, smelly and the middle class in the modern sense hardly exist. These time have quite
a lot of revolt and revolution, like the Belgian Revolution in 1830 and the revolutions of 1848 (which involves many nations). There is also the 1910 revolution in Portugal, the French Revolution in the late 18th century. Although these are not in the 19th century, these two revolutions, especially the French Revolution resulted in the collapse of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic. Back to the anime. The Republican revolution in Europe in the 1800s and the English Civil War in the mid-1600s are depicted in some way in the anime by the Albion Revolution (for me, I would call it the Albion Civil War. I know that the civil war is doesn't happen in the 19th century but it resembles the many revolutions in Europe in the 19th century, which the Republican vs the Royalist.
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| Dirty and dark... |
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The nice building hides the fact of the state of Albion.
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4. Walls, walls and more walls
Walls, walls and more walls...it is so prevalent throughout this anime and throughout our history. The USSR built walls, East Germany built walls, the U.S. built walls (more like a fence), China built walls and EVEN the Ancient Romans built walls in the British Isles. Other than these walls, there are so MANY other walls around the world, like the Northern Irish "peace wall", the wall that separates Israel and Palestine and EVEN we make walls between ourselves. Also, I remember that
not only us but also animals can be affected by the barriers and walls that we humans built. What is more, it is that EVEN the opening song's name is literally The Other Side of the Wall. All of these walls and theme of wanna break down those walls have manifest itself in this anime.
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That scene...
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You guys remember what Princess Charlotte (who actually is the real Ange) told the real Princess Charlotte when the team tries to stop the revolt by Zelda? She said, "There's always been an invisible wall around your heart. I promise you again. I will break the wall around your heart too and will never leave you until you can smile for us." Wow...the fall of the Berlin Wall is not as significant as compared to breaking down the thick and tall walls around our hearts. Oh Lord my God, may this be my prayer to You. Ahem! Anyway, let's move on.
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| Aww...cute. |
Update (12/6/2020): I got a thought as I was listening to the anime's opening song: In a way, Ange and Charlotte had successfully go across the wall in between them, literally and figuratively. The literal sense of it is the wall of London while the figurative sense of it is Ange's (or the real princess') reservation towards her because she is a spy. They will one day break the wall of London and reunite the Albion Kingdom as one again, I believe. I know that it is impossible but who knows? At times, unexpected people do unexpected things. I hope that Ange and Charlotte can be together as good friends.
5. Cavorite...Is it Radium?
Cavorite is not a real-life material but a fictional material taken from a novel named
The First Men in the Moon, which is written in the early 1900s. The publication of the book coincides with the period in which the anime is in. Woah...And also, there is no colour for Cavorite from the original work that I know of but in this anime, it gives Cavorite a Radium-like green fluorescence glow and a toxic nature. Radium releases toxic gas called Radon as it decays naturally and has a natural green fluorescence glow, just like Cavorite in this story. Oh...OMG!!!! What?! Well, it has anti-gravity properties and doesn't exist in real life.
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| The C-ball...remember that glow? |
OK, back to the anime. This material, like Radium, is toxic, right? Radium's radiation can cause eye damage, just like what happened to this girl who the little sister of the "defector" and the victim of Cavorite poisoning in the first episode. Man, the similarities of both things are pretty significant. As I do little more study, they have a lot of similarities except that Cavorite is fictional and an anti-gravity substance like Cavorite doesn't exist in this world. Also, one thing, Radium is found during the Victorian Era, just like Cavorite (I assume that it is found before the late 1800s & after Victoria is queen).
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| The poor girl... |
6. The East-West Divide
The divide...that reminds me of East and West Germany, North and South Korea and the North and South Vietnam. And once again, the wall and Princess' word to Ange when Ange was saving her. Man, there are way too many things to say...Oh, don't forget that the Western World and the Eastern World are relatively far from each other. The sense of separation (or should I say detachment) between the West and the East (as it were) are still to be seen right now despite the existence of globalisation. Why do I say that? The West doesn't know the East enough, the West's slow reaction to the pandemic and many other things (even in the grassroots level)...all of these are evidence that we still have THAT WALL between each other. May God bridge the divide between us...Amen.
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| Remember this picture? Saw the wall? |
7. Identity Swap
Identity change is not that common in anime but swapping identity is EVEN uncommon. This "
Prince and Pauper" situation between Ange and Princess has already been hinted to us in the 1st episode, rare its head in the 2nd episode and shown itself in the 8th episode. What does the story of Prince and Pauper is all about? It talks about a Prince of England swapping place with a commoner that looks like the prince, just like in Ange and Princess' case. Unlike the story in Prince and Pauper, that swap came with several consequences that are terrible, worse than in Prince and Pauper. They are not only stuck with their assumed identities but also have to deal with what comes with that identity swap and the separation from each other because of the ongoing civil war as the result of the revolution. That swap also came with the chance of dying if their real identities are exposed as people who are in power will try to eliminate them. Wow...quite a scene. OK, let's move on.
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| She's right. Their lies become truth in the telling... |
8. Royalists vs Republicans
The
Victorian Era...well, that's what the anime reminds me of. The feel of it...Oh, remember the Royalist and Republicans? That fight between them mirrors that the ones in France and in Russia...and so many others. There are multiple revolutions that tumble the Royal family. Just look at Germany, France and Portugal. The royal family doesn't exist any more. The
French Revolution creates so much fear among the royal families in Europe and making them attacking France because they are afraid of their own lives. Well, I'm not gonna dig any deeper into this fight. You can check it out for yourselves. In this anime, the republicans and royalist are at a standstill. That's why spy agency like Control came into the play in this anime. Oh, by the way, I'm gonna talk about something related to political standstill and spies in the next segment.
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The Control...Spy agency
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9. Cold War, Spies and Defectors
The standstill between the Royalist and Republicans in Albion lead to a wall inside of London, spies running rampant in London and having defectors coming in and out in of both the Commonwealth (Republicans) and the Kingdom (Royalist). For us, we see only people defecting from the Kingdom. Well, that's probably because of the angle that we are being given in this show. Anyway, this situation in Albion is VERY SIMILAR to the
Cold War in the mid-1900s. Those were the time where spies and defectors and rumours of spies and defectors running rampant, VERY SIMILAR to Albion's situation here in this anime.
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Spies and defectors...
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10. Everyone had their circumstances
Everyone in this world has their circumstances...I believe that we need to know more about each other before we speak into their lives. Oh, man, that couldn't be true for
my case the case of the girls in Team White Pigeon. Each of them has their reason for joining the team. Let's dive in!
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The girls...all have different circumstances...
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i. Ange (actually the real princess)
As a child and a princess, she hated palace life and had swap identity with the current princess to go outside and have fun for a moment. The worst thing happened, which is the revolution in Albion, causing them to swap identity in the midst of the chaos "permanently". She "permanently" became a commoner and have become a spy to try to find ways to reunite with the current princess again.
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Ange the spy.
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Those cute loli times...
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ii. Princess Charlotte (actually the real Ange)
As a child and a poor commoner, she found the Princess by accident. They began to become friends. They trick the servants and play together. When the princess asked to go outside and have fun for a moment, she swaps identities and the worst thing happened, which is the revolution in Albion, causing them to swap identity in the midst of the chaos "permanently". She "permanently" became a princess and tries really to become one to make sure that she stays alive to see Ange again.
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Princess...she looks sweet though.
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Those sweet loli times...
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iii. Dorothy (Actual name: Daisy)
She came from a broken family, like so many people. As a child, he has a hard time dealing with her father's madness and drunkenness after her father lost one of his arms. Her mother left the house. She also left the house after her mother left. She then joins the Control's spy training program to become one. She even uses her mother's name as her alias. Other than joining the spy training program, her family and background do resonate with many people and children in the world who have a broken family.
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Dorothy...what a sad past...
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iv. Beatrice
For this girl who a scion of a prestigious family, she serves as the Princess' aide and a close friend because of her circumstances and the princess' acceptance. Because of her crazy father who is mad on mechanics and machines, he used her a test subject for his experiments...O.O...OK, that reminds me of Full Me...OK, let's not go there. Anyway, because of that, she can mimic the voices of other people using a mechanism that her father implanted in her throat and allow the team to do things where other teams couldn't do. She joined the team because the princess decided to join regardless of her objections.
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| What a cute smile from Beatrice. But, her past...I would not rather say it. |
v. Toudou Chise
This ninja...yes, ninja! She is from Japan. She came in the scene on top of a train where the princess is in when the Japanese representatives came to visit Albion (or England). She came in to protect a Japanese diplomat from an assassin who was related to her, which is actually her father. If you know Japanese history, the late 19th century is what we called the Meiji era (yes, the Meiji restoration happened). That "restoration" efforts of the new government have left many in the samurai class poor, broke and also desperate. Many of them rebelled. Weirdly, the father and her daughter are on two opposite sides of the divide. With her excellent samurai-style swordsmanship, she killed her father and of course, she buried him and can't help herself but cry. sigh...who doesn't feel the pain when your loved ones passed away?
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Chise...well, not exactly spying for any side of the Albion wall
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She often acts naive and has a hard time adapting to cultural differences. Well, isn't that the case for so many people who migrated into a different country that they have no idea about? The many funny happening in Episode 9 can manifest to that. Anyway, why she joined the team? She is a spy for Japan tasked with observing the Commonwealth and Kingdom. Why? Just her superior told her this: "Chise, don't think of this as cowardice. Our country is still weak so we need to know which side will win. We need to stand on the winning side. If not, there is no future for us." So yeah, basically, her superior needs to which country to ally with in order to protect the national interest and she needs to report the situation to them for them to decide. Well, well, act in national interest...Well, that's basically global geopolitics there. I'm not gonna dive in. Let's move on.
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Chise's usual job...
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Closing Thoughts
To close this blog post, I would like to say that this anime touches a lot of my historical knowledge and tickles my passion to study history, especially the ones related to this anime. Man, I could put in with all sort of mad theories into this post but I would rather pass this unto you who have watched this anime and wanna know more. I have tried my best to write this piece to the best of my abilities. Anyway, that's it for my opinion piece! My closing thoughts are getting a little too long. I hope that you enjoy reading and browsing this blog. Goodbye, and God bless you!
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Aww...I wish that they can be together in the open...one day, one day...
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References
This is the first time I'm making a reference section for a blog post. I thought of this idea while taking a bath. If you dun wanna read this, you can just skip through it. I dun mind. Anyway, I dun wanna make it look like the reference section of a research paper so I'm gonna go for something different here. With that said, let's go!!!!
i. Encyclopedia Britannia
I used this site to get the origin of the name, Albion and to get on some info on the revolution and some history of Europe. Well, it's not that I dun know the history of Europe but I needed verifications for a few things. The things that I engaged are these...
ii. Wikipedia
As a Mechanical Engineering graduate, I dun regard Wikipedia as a good site to put into your reference section in your research paper but this is no research paper. I will use it nonetheless. Of course, I will use it alongside with other references. BTW, this is the list of them:
- Glorious Revolution (embedded in Albion & the U.K. subsection)
- Oliver Cromwell (embedded in Albion & the U.K. subsection)
- Queen Victoria
- Victorian Era (embedded in Royalists vs Republicans subsection)
- English Civil War (embedded in Albion & the U.K. subsection)
- The 19th-century revolutions (embedded in The 19th Century Europe subsection)
- Cold War (embedded in the Cold War, Spies and Defectors subsection)
- The Prince and the Pauper (embedded in the Identity Swap subsection)
iii. Youtube
Youtube is not a good one to put into the reference list but it helps me in forming my ideas and an easier way to learn more about the historical background of the show represents. Anyway, I'm gonna show you. xD
iv. Others
Other than that, I have used other sites to confirm a few things about the anime's possible real-world references. And yeah, of course, I actually found other sites that do this other than the interview of the anime's director. Oh, by the way, the links are down there, including that interview.
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