The funneral of Raoh

Google map says there is not a way from New York to Tokyo. It shows the direction to European cities, but I am not sure I can follow the direction 24. Can you swim?

I like this, it makes me smile. Everybody looks happy. Sushi Conveyor in Tokyo. By the way, when I locate Sushi, I eat GARI a lot! Because that is my favorite stuff. GARI is named from the sound of cutting ginger or the texture of ginger (we say gari gari suru). Originally it was a private mark/secret language of sushi cooks like Murasaki (purple) = soy sauce, or AGARI (up) = green tea. Sushi private marks got to be common and customers use them now.

I have never looked at "Fist of the North Star" (北斗の拳) in manga, TV shows, or movies. It's too violent for me, but I know the story and it's very popular actually. At the end of this month, their new movie "The Legend of Raoh II: Fierce Fighting Arc" (here is the trailer) will be released in Japan. In the movie, Raoh died. So a few days ago, his funeral ceremony was held in Zen Temple Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin. This is the official site and this is a news site. People had a funeral for Rikiishi of "Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow, Joe) before. I think this is the second time to have a funeral for a manga character. Ha. You have my sympathy.

Comments

[Roaf]

You know, in England you have to be over 18 years old to see "Fist of the North Star" because of the violence. It is very cool, though.
About 10 years ago Superman died and they had a special funeral comic for him, which was big news.

[Mari]

Hi there
I really don't know about that manga. Even 10 pagese I did not look at it. But it' so popular so that it would be good for guys.

[Glenn Ignacio]

whats the big idea of giving fictitious characters in manga/anime a funeral ?

don't quite get it.. (8X

[bshock]

I'm fascinated by the story about funerals for manga characters. In some ways it reminds me of the Shinto ceremonies for old dolls. If you accept the premise that almost any physical object could have a spirit, why couldn't non-physical things like characters in a story also have spirits? After all, spirits themselves would have to be non-physical things.

Of course, this begs the question of where you stop assigning spirits. Do abstract ideas like "truth" and "beauty" have spirits? This would almost seem to approach the idea of Platonic ideals.

Oh well, I suspect that most of the people involved in such manga character funerals do not take these things literally. Perhaps even the Shinto ceremony for dolls is not meant literally by everyone, but is just a way of helping children discard unnecessary attachment to their old toys.

Regardless of your religious beliefs, you might possibly agree that the only way we can really know the "spirits" of others is by feeling a relationship within ourselves. In that sense then, a child who loved a doll very much might have a deep sense of that doll's "spirit." In a similar fashion, people who are devoted to manga or anime characters might feel as though these imaginary people had spirits also.

In the west, it is common for people to comment that funerals are for the benefit of the living rather than the dead. Though I understand the Japanese might not agree on this, that sort of approach might very well explain imaginary character funerals. I know that I have felt very sad after the "deaths" of certain anime characters.