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carl jung

Ichigo’s Journey: Anime and the Monomyth – Part 4

by Austin Otaku on September 15, 2009

Here is the fourth and final installment of my discussion on the Monomyth and anime. In this section, I’ll discuss the third group of phases, known collectively as the “Return.” If you missed any of the previous discussion, feel free to catch up on Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Return

The Return section of the Hero’s Journey is generally listed in the following order:

Refusal of Return
The Magical Flight
Rescue from Without
The Crossing of the Return Threshold
Master of Two Worlds
Freedom to Live

However, Bleach follows a distinctly different order because, whereas the Hero normally is working either with or against the gods’ blessing, Ichigo has some “gods” on his side and some who are working very hard to keep him from his goal.

What’s important to note is that not all of the phases have to be represented in a story in order to fit into the monomyth, nor do they have to be in the exact order laid out by Campbell. In fact, since its inception, a couple of variations on the monomyth have been developed.

Rescue from Without

Shunsui Kyōraku's Zanpakutou

While he is a strong-willed person with a powerful reiatsu (spiritual power), Ichigo does need to be rescued often in his quest to save Rukia. After his battle with Renji, he requires Yamada Hanataro’s healing powers. In his first confrontation with Kuchiki Byakuya, Yoruichi has to intercede in order to save him. And ultimately, he would be unable to complete his mission if several shinigami weren’t trying to help him.

Lastly, Ichigo has to rely on the favor of the Goteijusantai (the 13 divisional court protective squads), those he had recently been battling, to return to the real world.

“For the bliss of the deep abode is not lightly abandoned in favor of the self-scattering of the wakened state. “Who having cast off the world,” we read, “would desire to return again? He would be only there.” And yet, in so far as one is alive, life will call.”

Master of Two Worlds

Ichigo - Master of Two Worlds

From the very beginning, Ichigo has been evolving toward being what Campbell would call the Master of Two Worlds. As a mere mortal, to become a shinigami (death god) is exceptional, but to become one who can wield the power of a bankai is something very few shinigami ever attain. And so, the Goteijusantai grant Ichigo a Substitute Shinigami Badge, a charm that allows him to separate his spirit from his body so he can defend Karakura Town from invading Hollows. In doing this, they recognize him as both a human and one of their own.

“The individual, through prolonged psychological disciplines, gives up completely all attachment to his personal limitations, idiosyncrasies, hopes and fears, no longer resists the self-annihilation that is prerequisite to rebirth in the realization of truth, and so becomes ripe, at last, for the great at-one-ment.”

The Crossing of the Return Threshold

The Return Threshold

With the blessings of the Goteijusantai, Ichigo and his friends, Inoue, Chad, Ishida, and Yoruichi, are allowed to use the official Senkai Gate to return to the physical world. The challenge of this stage for the hero is the sheer impact of returning to “normal” life with the knowlege he has attained in the land of the gods. This is a challenge that not only Ichigo, but also Chad, Ishida and Inoue must face.

“The first problem of the returning hero is to accept as real, after an experience of the soul-satisfying vision of fulfillment, the passing joys and sorrows, banalities and noisy obscenities of life.”

The Senkai Gate represents the acceptance of this transition back into the real world.

The Magical Flight

Magical Flight

Sometimes returning to the real world can be as big a challenge as entering the land of the gods for the Hero. In Bleach, this phase is most dangerous for those who accompanied Ichigo in to Soul Society – Chad, Ishida, and Inoue, who entered the spiritual realm in their physical form. The Senkai Gate into the physical world opens up in the middle of the sky, and the fall from that height would’ve surely killed all three of them.

Fortunately, Urahara arrives in time to save them on his magical carpet.

Refusal of the Return

Oftentimes in the myths and legends throughout history, the hero finds himself or herself in the paradise they had to break into in order to achieve their goal only to discover that they don’t want to leave. In Buddhism, it is often the case that those who enter the blessed state of Enlightenment prefer to stay there. The heroes who return, called Bodhisattvas, come back because they desire to bring the boon of knowledge back to humankind and show them the way to Enlightenment.

Ichigo's Return Home

Returning home isn’t the challenge for Ichigo though. In fact, it’s obvious at the end of the Soul Society Arcs, as Ichigo stands in front of his darkened home, his sisters and father inside sleeping and unaware of his absence, and quietly says, “Tadaima” (“I’m home”), that this is where he has yearned to be throughout his entire adventure.

However, though Rukia is saved and his goal is accomplished, it seems that the gods have conspired to refuse Ichigo’s ability to return to a normal existence. Having transformed into a death god, Ichigo is now obligated to ensure the safe passage of souls of the recently deceased through Karakura Town. And he’ll be thrust back into the fray later as the (damnable) Bount Arc and the Hueco Mundo arcs begin.

Freedom to Live

The benefit of going through the Hero’s Journey is that the Hero no longer has to fear Death. They can live without being nervous about the future or regretting the past.

“The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become, because he is.”

And it is due to this change in perspective, Ichigo is able to face the many challenges that he will face in future arcs of the manga and anime.

Conclusion

The power of myth rests in its ability to instruct humanity and provide guidance in the turmoils of our own lives. Facts don’t carry such power because they reflect what has been and what currently is; not what is possible.

Ichigo’s story shows us the power of determination in the face of impossibilities as well as the inspiration that true friendship can provide in our darkest hour. Within each of us is more potential that we know or can comprehend, and by fully embracing the various aspects of our psyches, neither over-stressing or punitively repressing any of them, we can become whole, a process Carl Jung calls “individuation.”

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Ichigo’s Journey: Anime and the Monomyth – Part 3

by Austin Otaku on September 5, 2009

Here is part 3 of my discussion on the Hero’s Journey in anime, specifically how the anime “Bleach” plugs into the symbolism of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and thereby taps into archetypes and ideas that appeal to our collective unconscious. If you haven’t read Part 1 and Part 2, do so now to catch up on the discussion.

Initiation

Ichigo Recovers After His Battle with Abarai Renji

The Road of Trials

While the whole process of the Hero’s Journey is important for the transformation of the human spirit and the attainment of the “ultimate boon,” which can be as significant as the salvation of humanity or as personal as the rescue of a dear friend, the most important stage is the Road of Trials. Through the tests, tasks, struggles and fights along the road, the hero’s spirit is essentially folded, pounded, and honed, much like a katana (or zanpakutou), so they can face the ever-increasing challenges they’ll face.

This stage is recognized as the most essential because none of us is capable of just walking in and grabbing the object of our goals without the kind of effort that takes us out of our comfort zones. It would be impossible for Ichigo to enter Soul Society, stop the execution of Rukia on Soukyoku Hill, or battle Captain Kuchiki Byakuya if he doesn’t first overcome his own weaknesses and step through the ranks of Soul Society.

Just as in the refinement of any metal, such as gold or steel, involves intense heat and violent moulding, Ichigo’s immense reiatsu (spirit power) is finely sharpened by his battles with Ikkaku, Renji, and Kenpachi.

Batter my heart, three-person’d God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
– John Donne, Holy Sonnet XIV

Ichigo's Deus ex Machina

The Meeting with the Goddess

Oftentimes in myths, the hero comes to a point in their journey when they meet their goddess, or a member of the opposite sex that represents an all-powerful and unconditional love. This is not the kind of romantic love that you may first assume, though it is possible. For instance, the goddess in The Lord of the Rings is represented by the elf queen Galadriel, and there was no romantic love between her and Frodo. Within “Bleach,” the goddess is represented by none other than the Goddess of the Flash, Yoruichi Shihoin.

“The meeting with the goddess (who is incarnate in every woman) is the final test of the talent of the hero to win the boon of love (charity: amor fati), which is life itself enjoyed as the encasement of eternity.”

As with Frodo and Galadriel, there is no romantic love between Ichigo and Yuroichi. (Though there’s no doubt that the teenaged Ichigo experienced lust when Yuroichi revealed her true form, transforming from a cat into a nude woman. Can you blame him?) Yuroichi reveals the secrets of shunpo (flash step) and helps Ichigo achieve bankai (the most powerful form for his zanpakutou, Zangetsu).

Woman as Temptress

In many myths, the hero faces many temptations to abandon his quest, and oftentimes these temptations are represented by a woman. Why a woman? Because even the ancients recognized that lust was a powerful temptation for every male hero.

However, Ichigo’s journey varies from this phase. As often as he is beaten down and as often as he looks forward at even more daunting trials, he stays firm in his resolve to keep moving forward. In fact, for a teenager, he shows nearly superhuman restraint around the women in his life (Inoue, Rukia, Yuroichi, etc.).

Ichigo and Zangetsu Battle

Atonement with the Father

In this phase, the hero has to resolve the conflicting opposites in his psyche (the id and the superego), or as Campbell calls it, “the abandonment of the self-generated double-monster…” The father image represents whatever holds ultimate power in the hero’s life. For Ichigo, this is his zanpakutou, Zangetsu, and his on-going ordeal is that he has to continually evolve this relationship in order to gain control of that ultimate power in his life.

Once inside Soul Society, Ichigo must face the personification of his id, the White Hollow Ichigo, in order to defeat Captain Kenpachi. Later, in order to achieve bankai, Ichigo has to battle Zangetsu himself.

“It is in this ordeal that the hero may derive hope and assurance from the helpful female figure, by whose magic (pollen charms or power of intercession) he is protected through all the frightening experiences of the father’s ego-shattering initiation.”

Ichigo Battles Byakuya

Apotheosis

While in the purest form, apotheosis means the exaltation of someone to a divine status, Campbell sees apotheosis as the expansion of the hero’s consciousness after he defeats his foe. This is a continual phase for Ichigo. He must first grow more powerful before he fights each successive fight, and he must move beyond the realm of his own strength during each fight in order to survive.

In the end, not only has Ichigo exalted himself into the role of a bankai-weilding death god (an exceedingly rare accomplishment for even real shinigami), but he is recognized by the leadership of Soul Society as one of them with the awarding of the Substite Shinigami badge.

The Ultimate Boon

The Ultimate Boon is the accomplishment of the goal of the hero’s quest. Everything that leads up to this phase serves to purify and prepare the hero to be worthy of its acquisition. “Its guardians dare release it only to the duly proven.”

For Ichigo, his goal for entering Soul Society is the rescue of Kuchiki Rukia from execution, and the guardians of Soul Society certainly do their part to prove his worthiness. Due to the refinement he experiences along his path, he is able to withstand the power of the instrument of execution used to obliterate shinigami, called “Soukyoku“. It is a giant halberd said to have the power of a million zanpakutou.

In addition to accomplishing his own goal, he helps uncover an even larger conspiracy to upset the balance of the Universe. This sets up the future arcs in which Ichigo aids Soul Society in its battle against the world of the Hollows, known as Hueco Mundo.

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This concludes Part 3 of this series. I will publish the 4th and final part next week.

When I explained what I was trying to accomplish in this series to a friend, they said, “Dude, I just like the show. I watch it for the action.” And this is perfectly fine. Story-telling has been used for many thousands of years to entertain.

My goal is to show how these entertaining stories can also be used to illuminate everyday human challenges. By seeing how the hero overcomes their challenges to accomplish goals, we can see our own struggles in a new light.

So, what challenges have you faced on the Road of Trials? What aspects of your own personality do you have to fight in order to be prepared and purified for the ultimate boon in your life? Have you met your goddess and experienced that unconditional love?

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Ichigo’s Journey: Anime and the Monomyth – Part 2

by Austin Otaku on August 24, 2009

Here’s the second part of my discussion on the symbolism of anime and how it appeals to the subconscious and plugs in well to the monomyth (the Hero’s Journey). You can read Part 1 here.

Galloping Horse

Symbols have been a part of humanity since we as a species learned to communicate. Think about it. If I say the word “horse” to you, in your mind, do you see the word “H-O-R-S-E”, or do you see an actual horse? It is the image of the horse that your mind associates with the word “horse”. How else can the mind comprehend the most complex of concepts and ideas, such as the meaning of life, the universe, and spirituality, than through symbols?

In this segment, I’ll introduce the first segment of the Hero’s Journey, called “The Departure.”

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Ichigo and the 17 Stages of the Monomyth

The 17 Stages of the Monomyth as described by Joseph Campbell outline the basic pattern of how myths, legends and epics have been structured throughout history. The 17 stages are divided into 3 major phases of the Hero’s Journey: the Departure, Initiation, and the Return. While many stories follow this pattern, it is not a rigid or inflexible outline. There are a number of stories that follow variations of the monomyth. But they all appeal to the same symbolism. “Bleach” is also one of the stories that skews slightly off the beaten path, but likewise it ultimately reaches the same destination.

The Departure

Kuchiki Rukia, Shinigami

Call to Adventure

This stage of the Monomyth is when the hero is summoned out of his or her mundane daily existence. While it seems that Ichigo is called to adventure with every new arc of the series, the very first call to adventure is the most essential. His meeting with the shinigami Rukia Kuchiki changes everything for him. Especially when she becomes injured by a large Hollow who is attacking his family, and the only way to save his family and himself is to take her death god powers by piercing his heart with her zanpakutou (Soul Reaper).

Much to her surprise, she sees very quickly that Ichigo has a very potent reiatsu (spiritual energy), and as a result, he becomes an incredibly powerful shinigami.

Ichigo's Call to Adventure

Refusal of the Call

Often in myths, heroes will refuse the Call to Adventure in lieu of living a comfortable existence. According to Campbell, the very real threat of this refusal is that “Walled in boredom, hard work, or ‘culture,’ the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved. His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless…”. Essentially, if the hero refuses the call they becomes like the rest of humanity, living day-to-day and always wondering “what if?”

This is not really a problem for Ichigo. His Call to Adventure required an immediate, life-or-death decision. And then with every other successive call to action throughout the series, there was no hesitation, even the nearly-impossible task of breaking into Soul Society to rescue Rukia, who was sentenced to be executed for sharing her shinigami powers with Ichigo.

Urahara Pushes Ichigo to Unleash Zangetsu

Supernatural Aid

For the hero, aid comes in the form of magical helpers or, more often, a supernatural mentor. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo’s supernatural aid comes from Gandolph. In Bleach, while many come to assist Ichigo in his quest, the role of supernatural mentor falls squarely on the shoulders of Kisuke Urahara, a former captain-level shinigami living in the real world and running the magical specialty store Urahara Shop. He pushes Ichigo to find his own dormant shinigami powers and to discover his own zanpakutou, rather than rely on the powers given to him by Rukia. This is a vital step for Ichigo if he is to rescue Rukia from certain obliteration.

Once in Soul Society, the role of supernatural mentor becomes Yoruichi Shihoin, also a former captain-level shinigami. However, there is a more suitable role for her in the Hero’s Journey, which I will discuss later, and her nickname “Goddess of the Flash” plays very nicely into that role.

Kuchiki Rukia Offers Ichigo Her Shinigami Powers

Crossing of the First Threshold

The first threshold represents the hero’s acceptance of his responsibilities and his subsequent crossing over onto the field of adventure. From here on, he ventures forth into the unknown, where danger lurks around every corner and the rules aren’t always known. While technically, Ichigo’s acceptance of the call to adventure by piercing his own heart with Rukia’s zanpakutou is the first threshold, his first experience inside his own soul, where he meets Zangetsu, and his crossing through the Senkai Gate into Soul Society could both be considered First Thresholds.

Often the thresholds are attended by “threshold guardians.” While these guardians aren’t often dangerous in and of themselves, they can dissuade the hero from crossing over into the unknown. They don’t prevent the entering into the unknown as much as they prevent the leaving of the known. They are the naysayers who cast doubt onto the hero’s plans. Again, this isn’t a problem in “Bleach.” Pretty much anyone Ichigo comes in contact with wants to help him, even his enemy, Uryu Ishida.

Ichigo Kurosaki in the Pit

Belly of the Whale

This is the final stage in which the hero has the potential to turn back and live a normal life. There is no turning back after this stage because the hero has to undergo a metamorphosis if they are going to proceed. Campbell refers to this stage as “a form of self-annihilation. Instead of passing outward, beyond the confines of the visible world, the hero goes inward, to be born again.”

Such is the case with Ichigo. In order to develop his own latent shinigami powers, he must have his soul tether (the chain that connects his soul with his physical body) severed, and he is thrown, quite symbolically, into a deep pit with his arms bound behind him. There are only two possibilities in the pit: 1. his soul will lose all of its humanity and he’ll become a Hollow, or 2. he’ll discover his own latent powers and return to the surface a full-fledged shinigami.

Hollow Ichigo

Ultimately, Ichigo returns to the surface after nearly becoming a Hollow. His shinigami powers are realized, and he is primed to discover the name of his zanpakutou (a second Belly of the Whale phase, if you will). Only, he has created a third possibility in the process. Not only is he a shinigami, but he has awakened a very powerful aspect of his spirit – Hollow Ichigo, or what Carl Jung would call his “Shadow” self.

“Everyone carries a shadow,” Jung writes, “and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” (Jung, Carl. Answer to Job.) And certainly, if Ichigo is the most caring and thoughtful person in his conscious life, his shadow is the most ravenous and aggressive personality you’ll ever meet. This proves true time and again throughout the series.

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To be continued…

What Calls to Adventure have you refused or taken? Who have you been able to lean on for sage advice on your own journey? What transformations have you had to make in order to accomplish your goals? It’s interesting how an anime can bring up these questions, all through the art of storytelling.

In the next blog post, I’ll discuss the Initiation section of the Hero’s Journey as it relates to the Soul Society arc of “Bleach.”

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Ichigo’s Journey: Anime and the Monomyth – Part 1

August 20, 2009

I’m 37 years old; much too old, some would say, to be watching anime (“cartoons” as some call them). This is an opinion that I’ve heard quite often, but I’m as inclined to agree with it as I would be to the idea that someone who reads fiction novels or loves watching movies has to [...]

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Ichigo’s Journey: Anime and the Monomyth – Part 4