Spring 2023 Anime: Magical Destroyers

Synopsis

In Year 2008, a mysterious force rids Japan of all otaku culture. Just as otakus are thought to be wiped by the SSC, a rebellion rises to regain the blockaded Akiba.

In 2011, otakus flock to the flag of freedom in Japan. The Akiba revolutionary squad takes on SHOBON, head of the SCC, in a heroic battle.

They destroy peace and order, all to create a world where they can say what they like, as much as they like!

(Source: Aniplus Asia)

Comments

People who have seen RUMBLE GARANNDOLL would probably get the feel that Magical Destroyers is taking on the same discourse regarding the policing of “otaku” culture as the former anime does. It’s tempting to make comparisons between the two, but let’s not forget to think as well what the presence of these two anime not too far from each other can tell us about the tensions in the “otaku” discourse, in a time when anime and manga culture is supposed to have become mainstream worldwide.

History appears to be a concern of Magical Destroyers‘ original creator, Jun Inagawa. He mentioned in an interview how there is a generational gap between a younger generation of “otaku” who grew up when the “otaku” label has been normalized and even understood simply as “anime fans”, and an older generation who had lived through periods of stigmatization towards “otaku”. Such experience of the older generation is what Inagawa said he wants to be remembered by the younger generation too. Thus, we can perhaps comprehend why the anime indicates that it is taking place around the period of 2008-2011. While known as the “otaku Mecca”, the mid- to late-2000s saw increased media attention and tourist interest toward Akihabara, as well as a redevelopment project to make it a centre of digital/creative contents business, which ironically also drew more surveillance and control toward certain “otaku” activities on its street that were perceived could become a public nuisance to the branding transformation of the area (Galbraith, 2010). The year 2010 and 2011 also saw the controversial Tokyo’s Revised Healthy Development of Youth Ordinance (also known as Bill 156) getting approved and coming into effect, which drew protests from many manga creators and publishers for threatening freedom of expression.

But Inagawa’s life history indicates that he was still in elementary school age in that period, which could mean what the anime presents regarding that time presumably comes from sources that aren’t his own personal experiences, like perhaps his older otaku informant who lives in Akiba or the other anime staff members. On the other hand, Inagawa’s “brand” is shaped by his experience of living some part of his youth in the USA, and encountering various subcultures from street culture to club music that influence his art, which could be seen to carry over into the anime’s design and musical aesthetics. While GARANNDOLL uses simple but effective familiar tropes to signify the contrast between the “otaku” protagonists and the Shinkoku military and the variations of the “otaku” interests, Magical Destroyers‘ aesthetics complicates the notion of “otaku” culture and invites us to question, what counts as a part of the culture and what can make it be considered as one? There aren’t easy answers to those questions, and that’s why it’s interesting to ask.

Magical Destroyers is showing on Aniplus Asia

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Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times