Type Moon Plays a Game of Pool, or the Illusion of UBW
Nasu Kinoko’s world (Nasuverse) is a game of pool where reality marbles clash.
When I was a kid, I played with marbles. It’s a great way to learn how things roll, you know? Children fancy marbles because they are pretty, shiny, and colored like the kaleidoscope. Rainbow is weak sauce in comparison. It’s like, you can’t find an identical marble. It’s like a freaking fractal screen saver. It’s also cheap.
A GRSI discussion thread appeared recently in which we discussed the merits of Index/Railgun’s universe, specifically the psionics. The underlying idea is similar; Kazuma Kamachi’s version of psionics is projection of an individual’s sense of reality to affect actual reality. I should say, the impression of Shiro’s world in Fate’s Unlimited Blade Works arc left me with the same taste. Oh yeah, this is really a UBW review post in disguise. I’ve just finished a couple weeks ago, and I guess it’s time to share before the UBW film hits the theaters later this year and before the memories fade further.
In as such that ultimately some of its plot devices play second fiddle to thematic satisfaction and poetic justice, UBW is interesting as a sample of the superhero genre. Especially as a Japanese thing. It is sadly a genre I’m wholly indifferent about, so I won’t bore you with that aspect of UBW. However, the underlying paradox and predestination of Emiya Shiro is what makes UBW interesting, and I don’t recall people really talking about that specifically. [Probably because 90% of the time when I read anything about UBW, it just makes my eyes tired and TL;DR.] I am going to presume someone has talked about it already. Instead, I’ll focus on the stupid Nasu thing that he does every time, and what went down with UBW that made it less annoying than in some of his other works.
For starters, Shiro’s ability: If you’ve seen Fate anime, you would know that he can reinforce things and make weapons or whatever. It is explained within the game as his ability to project an idea. The more he understands what he projects, the better the projection is. The stronger he believes in the projection, the more durable and real the projected item becomes.
[Oh, yeah, spoilers for UBW incoming!]
Does this make sense in terms of Shiro’s ideal? Yeah, sure, but it could work with any ideal. In as much as ideals are ideas, notion of perfections, it is almost always a goal, a destination, a race in which people strive towards but never “arrive” at completely. The general idea I got from EMIYA (to use the heroic spirit term and not the class term…speaking of which, does every Nasuverse protagonist have a projection of their other selves?) is that he merely was unable to recognize with the imperfection within the nature of an ideal, in the paradox that ideals are perfect but are also flawed in that they cannot be truly achieved (as in, the law of “conservation of saving people”). The “save everyone” ideal is a natural choice; it is a plot vehicle to have some battle and get Shiro off his lazy butt and go fight “the impossible row row fight the powah” sort of way. The particulars of that ideal eggs the plot towards an epic, climatic moment, as it would be difficult to use just any ideal and still create a satisfying story.
I recommend this other ideal that could work: “The student council is my harem!” (Yea, Good END indeed.)
Of course, I sort of jest. Shiro’s Reality Marble is, in the end, his magic that allows him to be who he was created to be and to be who he is called to be. At the same time, that doesn’t mean he is locked in his predestined ways (as in EMIYA) but in some “learn from your future mistakes” way. It still makes me chuckle how Shiro’s magic is basically a literal analogy to “my idealism/sense of perfection is better/stronger/harder than yours!” when he picked his fights with Gilgamesh. From there, Gil’s Gates of Babylon thingamajig is a metaphor of “reality” as it is full of “the original” noble phantasms; or things of the real world. The faster and harder Shiro believes in his ideal, he can fend off the harsh reality and stay on course.
So yeah, UBW is basically a story about ideal versus reality, both against cynicism and giving up. Thankfully there’s this cute tsundere on the side and a very majestic mentor supporting you throughout the game. Oh, I guess there was something about a sheath too.
I just can’t take Nasu seriously. Not that it isn’t entertaining and fun, and at times creative, but LOL. I mean if you think about it, the whole “I will stab your appendicitis” or “I will kill the poison in your blood” thing is basically the same as “I will project my ideal, you know, that idea that I strongly believe in, and because of the power of heart my ideal is stronger than your ideal, I will win, if you know what I’m saying.” Except thankfully in UBW we got an actual fight scene to resolve it, rather than just Shiki doing surgery, or some acid-tripped dream. Still, it is just ludicrous.
At the same time, when I look back to stories like Asura Cryin’ or Index, I appreciate the brutal appearance and purpose-driven sophistry in Nasu’s writing. They’re all just different flavors of the same story. At the least, Nasu’s babble is there for a reason and sometimes it’s pretty interesting, just like those marble balls to a child.
P.S. The best visual illustration of the “reality marble” term is the epilogue to the 1997 film Man In Black. It is not the same as the verbal illustration in which the term comes about, but I am sure that this happy coincidence relate beyond this persistent pun I used to build this post out of nonsense.
does every Nasuverse protagonist have a projection of their other selves?
Almost EVERYONE. Ask him/her.
http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Warakia
http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/White_Len
“I will kill the poison in your blood” thing is basically the same as “I will project my ideal, you know, that idea that I strongly believe in, and because of the power of heart my ideal is stronger than your ideal, I will win, if you know what I’m saying.”
You’re linking this to Touma’s “You’re power is but an illusion. Therefore, with my powerful right hand, I shall kill that illusion.” kind Imagine Breaker of thing, right?
it’s not just touma. everyone’s ability works to that extent.