25 mars 2008
Nationalism and Mangas : interview of Thierry Vanroy
ONG : Can you introduce yourself please ?
TV : I’m Thierry Vanroy, student and leader (Praeses) of one of the six factions of the Flemish Nationalist Student Movement (NSV! www.nsv.be ) and the national formation officer (Censor, I control the blog www.nationalisme.info) as well. I’m also active within the New-Solidarist Alternative (N-SA http://nsalternatief.wordpress.com/) and I’m the Flemish contributor to Radio Rapaille (Weekly Dutch RBN program, www.radiorapaille.com).
I’ve been a political activist for about 7 years now and I guess this was partially a consequence of my obsession with both interbellum Italy and Asia, especially Japan. Traditional Japan has a culture so different from the current Western non-culture, it got me losing my beliefs in things like egalitarianism and liberalism at an early age. So this got me browsing the web until I finally got a more metapolitical, and rebellious, perspective.
Anyway, when you get rebellious ideas and develop them, you start to live the life of the rebel. When you live the life of the rebel, you can’t live without militantism. It’s a way to feel whole in a world of democrazy and general disinterest for identity and traditionalism. Of course I also believe eventually identitarian movements all over the world will once more gain the upper hand, but we must stand strong until this turning point finally arrives and whatever form this takes. How to live life in the Kali Yuga, right?
ONG : howcome that an european nationalist likes manga ?
TV : Well, as I just stated, it started before I became a nationalist, but it also contributed to the development of my ideas later on. It came from my interest for Japanese culture which already began when I was merely 9 years old. A year later, I started practising Shotokan Karate at a very traditional school, in which I still have a brown belt (Third Kyu, 8 years in a dojo).
When I was 14, I bought a book to learn Japanese, which I unfortunately never really got into. I also started practising Zen Buddhism, which I kept up for 4 years. Nevertheless, the same year I was introduced to manga and anime because of an episode of Dragonball Z. For the next 3 years, I immersed myself into the life of an Otaku and was confronted with an entirely different entertainment culture.
Let me explain. When you read Western comics like Marvel, there is either an emphasis on gung-ho action or on clichés like love and progressive values like tolerance. When you listen to Western popular songs, it’s usually either about love or teenage bullshit. When you watch Hollywood movies, well, the same thing. The plot might be interesting sometimes, but the values, the moral, all that is utter post-modern rubbish if you ask me.
But when you read a manga series, watch an anime movie or even listen to J-Pop and read the translated lyrics, it’s all so very different. For example, most anime and manga series challenge modern hoaxes like egalitarianism. Most anime and manga series motivate people to believe in ideals, to become stronger, to set goals, to be assertive, determined and driven.
A good example is the popular series Naruto, where becoming stronger is one of the central themes. Another central theme is camaraderie and most of the current arcs (seasons) are about the choice between getting stronger and achieving your goals on one hand, and having friends on the other. Watching characters in Naruto grow makes you motivated to do the same and there’s always someone who you can identify with in this respect. The same goes for series like Rurouni Kenshin, Blade of the Immortal, Claymore… Ample series have getting stronger and camaraderie as their central themes. When you consider for example how the Nouvelle Droite puts great emphasis on these things as well, you can understand why I find anime & manga far better entertainment for nationalists than Hollywood junk like Lost or CSI-Miami. Also, because most of the anime/manga worlds are fictional and hold many fantasy elements, they stimulate imagination and creativity, reality TV-shows on the other hand tend to kill this.
ONG : how have you started to have links with the japanese culture ? what do you prefer or admire in it
TV : I’ve explained in the above how I got in touch with it. What I prefer and admire in it, well, there’s so many things I could write a book. But when you go to the roots, traditional Japanese culture is Shinto and Bushido, not Christianity and Renaissance like Europe. I detest certain humanitarian and Christian values like liberalism, the God-given right to live, a holy equality and other dualist creeds. One can argue Christianity isn’t to blame for this, and I’ll gladly accept that theory, I even have a great deal of respect for zentropa.info’s Catholicism. But nevertheless, European cultures are for a large part built upon these values. It has obviously penetrated the whole post-modern, progressive Europe of today to a point where it has caused a negative spiral.
I on the other hand am all for elitism and Evolian Tradition, and I find these in traditional Japanese culture in the most beautiful way imaginable. Most beautiful way imaginable? Why yes, because another thing I admire (envy even) is how cleanliness, aestheticism, concentration, routine and etiquette play a huge role in traditional Japanese society. Ritual is something that I find missing in our lives, but it is quintessential to Japanese society even today. There’s a place for everything and everything has its place. For example, you will always remove your shoes before entering a house. Or whenever you take something, you put it back after use. This isn’t something we regard as normal, because we lack ritual. It may seem tedious at first, but life is so much more beautiful when everything has its place and when there is a daily routine. That’s something I learned from the Japanese.
Another thing, the traditional Japanese lifestyle is extremely refined, just look at their food-, dance-, clothing-… culture. All is accompanied with ritual, consciousness and concentration.
Then there are the values and morals, like the Bushido code of honour. As an Evolian disciple (amongst other things), I can really relate to these principles. The warrior ethos is pretty much completely eradicated in our cultures, yet it has only recently (past two centuries) somewhat started to lose its place in Japanese culture. The Spartans and Romans are great examples too in this respect, and I long for the restauration of the Roman empire in a Greater-European ideal. but these things date back two whole millennia! No remnants of their ethos remains in post-modern Europe, so that’s why I prefer turning to Japanese culture.
Evola and fellow nationalists in my environment tend to take Medieval Europe as a point of reference in this respect by the way. I find this valid for Traditionalist values to a certain degree, but (1) because of the barbaric element in Medieval society, I prefer the Japanese and their sense for beauty and (2) even Medieval values died centuries ago with the Renaissance. Not even our current aristocracy is worth looking into anymore and there isn’t enough historical data on Medieval life if you ask me. Hence, I’ve made Japan my reference.
Of course I’m romanticising a lot in the above, but the basic principles as they are laid out in the foundations of the traditional society matter, not the point at which its people got corrupted and alienated from them.
There’s so much more to say, but I think I’ve covered the most important parts of why a European nationalist can love Japan.
ONG : Are there political mangas ?
TV : I know manga has been used for political and religious purposes before (e.g. Astro Boy), but I assume we’re talking about nationalist ones. Well, I have read articles on a recent trend for Japanese artists to release increasingly nationalist manga and J-Pop, glorifying Japan’s military history for example. This currently manifests in a passive reactionary defiance, typical for the Japanese. For example, immediately after the last US troops left post-WWII Japan, it was decided to erect temples for people like Tojo. I have far more respect for such an attitude than the European self-denying post-war complex.
Anyway, perhaps it will evolve to a point where the number of active nationalist militants increase, but right now it’s still a rather dormant part of Japanese society. I can imagine however there’s bound to be ample for the actively looking Japanese, especially between Doujinshi (amateur manga).
Other than that, almost every anime/manga series has a political/philosophical dimension. You of course don’t have to try romantic or comedy series, and there are some exceptions. But the greater majority of anime/manga series provide some political or philosophical food for thought.
ONG : Is there any good mangas with "good ideas" ideas that you'd recommand for ?
TV :To introduce people to my fascination for Japan, I always recommend watching the series Shogun, based on James Clavell’s novel (a good read, but 1000ish pages can be inconvenient). It’s not manga or anime, but it’s a great introduction to Japan. The story is about a 17th century English navy pilot who is stranded in Japan and gradually learns about the Japanese culture. But I digress.
On topic, the blog NeoShinka (http://neoshinka.wordpress.com/) frequently posts excerpts that refer to ideas related to nationalism, so that’s a good place to learn about a variety of decent manga/anime and their messages.
As for actual series, ‘Space Pirate Captain Harlock’ (anime & manga) is number one. Harlock is a rebellious space pirate who fights for the freedom of earth, which was conquered by aliens. Calling him the Che Guevara of the future wouldn’t even be exaggerated. It has a great OVA-series (mini-movies) which (hot detail) has an evil alien race, baring the star of David. This almost cancelled the series, but I guess Harlock’s rebellion conquers all. Art featuring Harlock or his ship (the Jolly Roger) sometimes appears on zentropa.info and has also been used by Casa Pound and other movements. So I just had to name this one.
Code Geass (anime only) would be the next best thing in my book. It explicitly involves patriotism, imperialism, rebellion, nationalism and the likes, constantly playing these themes out against each other. It also doesn’t necessarily define a good side, which makes it all the more interesting. A must see!
Another series I strongly recommend is Death Note, a Nietzschean thriller which will take away any belief you might have had in the duality concept of ‘good vs evil’. This is more philosophical, but I’ll watch this any time over another Sixth Sense.
Other anime worth looking into: Certain Gundam series, Claymore, Naruto, Area 88…
That’s all I guess. I’m always happy to assist those who find identity important, wherever they may live.
Hope I was of some help !
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