Opening the Case
The prism’s edge has cast light on a different topic this time, offering new perspective. Those in Christian apologetics have acknowledged several areas in which apologetics can improve. The deliberations have been done. The conclusion has dawned upon us like a flash of lightning from above. Case Closed. One part of that is in the area of psychology. Another part is in cultural apologetics. Case Closed.
You know, cultural apologetics––the stuff of the caliber of C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Case Closed.
Now, back in my younger years, I used to be an amateur artist of sorts, dabbling in a variety of art forms, from a bit of painting to pottery to drawing fictional landscapes. But there was always one part of my drawing that I was never quite pleased with––drawing the human face. Now, however, with my familiarity with anime style, which is easily arguably better than cartooning at catching those key facial expressions, I at least know what I’m pleased with, even though I’ve had no production training in the anime art form.
But if the case really is closed and the verdict is really in concerning the problem, then what is a solution? Well, I’ve already given you a clue. In two words, Case Closed.
Background Investigation
Case Closed, known as Detective Conan, is a somewhat popular Japanese Anime franchise that has had at least 18 anime movies, at least one videogame, and well over 700 episodes (plus manga comics, of course). To be more precise, its genre is actually historical premise fiction detective anime. (Some may substitute “mystery” for “detective.”)
But since the detective is in the details (as well as any good apologist, I might add), let’s do a little investigation.
The series is historical fiction in that it does use actual places and features, both geographical and cultural, found in Japan and its outlying islands. Names of real and fictional organizations are included, from the FBI and CIA (on the real side) to the Black Syndicate (or “Black Organization”). All of the “3 religions of Japan” (i.e., Shintoism, Buddhism, and Christianity) are showcased in some form. Secular pop culture influence is also recognized, in realistic and comical manners.
The premise fiction aspect of the series can be expressed in the following question. What would happen if, one day, a high school upperclassman’s body was transformed into that of an elementary school age student? Now, of course, there’s more to the series than that, but that’s the premise fiction aspect of it––the aspect that affects a substantial part of the narrative and requires the audience to engage in suspension of disbelief.
The detective aspect of it becomes apparent from the very start, as the main character in the series is an up and coming high school age detective, Jimmy Kudo (Shinichi Kudo). The young man has a girl friend of sorts (read here, “childhood sweetheart”) named Rachael (Ran). While spying on a shady deal occurring at an amusement park, Kudo is knocked down from behind by a Black Syndicate criminal. The criminal then gives him a pill, compelling him to swallow it. Instead of killing the victim, however, the pill used to silence Kudo basically reverses his physiology by about a decade. (He takes on the name Conan Edogawa to help conceal his identity.)
Sample Evidence #1
Two episodes in particular seemed to me to have thematic value for Christians. The first of these is Episode 7 of the regular series. The theme of forgiveness is so apparent that one is left to think of it as a guiding theme for the rest of the series anytime the theme of vengeance (the opposite alternative) comes up as a motive for crime.
Indeed, in several other episodes in which the criminals actually do execute the crime, they end up regretting doing so upon hearing more information about the past. However, in episode 7, Kudo is investigating a case that is still ongoing.
To be more accurate, the investigation began before a crime had been committed, since the client and his young son had been receiving gifts from someone rather mysterious. The client himself was a doctor who tried to save people’s lives. The person who had been sending all of those gifts had lost his own son. The doctor had failed to save that man’s young son from an issue of appendicitis gone horribly wrong. The “gifts” that were sent would have otherwise belonged to the sender’s son had that son still been alive. The flowers sent to the doctor on “February 19th” every year were in remembrance of the son’s death.
The gift-sender abducts the doctor’s young son Joseph. When Kudo, the doctor, and the rest of the group catch up with the kidnapper, the kidnapper is with the doctor’s kindergartener. All this would be revenge for taking the life of the man’s son. An eye for an eye and a life for a life. Equal repercussions. The doctor, who the kidnapper partly felt had been at fault, would suffer an equal punishment––the loss of a son.
The kidnapper shows Joseph a wrapped present and gives it to him. The son thanks the kidnapper and asks him if he will still take him to the place the kidnapper had talked about earlier. However, the kidnapper had really thought to send Joseph to meet his (dead) son in the afterlife. After all, then that dead son wouldn’t be as lonely.
However, just after the knife comes into view, Kudo, who has arrived a ways away, borrows a nearby soccer ball and kicks it at the kidnapper. The kidnapper’s hand is injured, and he drops the knife. Then the doctor calls to his son Joseph, who instantly recognizes the doctor’s voice.
The doctor calls the boy to come to him, but the kidnapper quickly grabs a hold of the knife again and holds Joseph with the other hand. The doctor tries to explain to the kidnapper that his son wasn’t murdered and that it was already too late to save his son by the time his son had arrived. The kidnapper admitted that the toys, money, and flowers he had sent to the doctor were sent with his own grief.
The doctor pleads to the kidnapper to not hurt the doctor’s son. He says, “You can kill me, but just don’t hurt him!”
The doctor’s son then realizes that the man right behind him has been sending him all those toys. He then faces his kidnapper to thank him for sending him the gifts, claiming that he has taken good care of the toys.
The kidnapper, upon looking at the doctor’s son, sees in him his own precious dead son. Then the kidnapper finally breaks down, weeping and letting go of the knife. After kneeling down in front of the child and the doctor, the kidnapper yells out his son’s name, “Tommy! Tommy!”
“What’s a matter?” the doctor’s son asks the kidnapper. “Did my dad say something that hurt you?”
The kidnapper affirms that instead of the doctor doing something hurtful, that the kidnapper himself had done something hurtful. Furthermore, he admitted that the only way he could cope with his son’s death was to blame someone else. With hands on the ground and tears hitting the ground as well, the kidnapper pleads, “Forgive me, little boy!”
Detective Mouri, who is there on the scene, tells his daughter Ran to call the police. After all, justice ought to be served. The law is the law. This was a kidnapping in the very least, if not an attempted murder.
The doctor interrupts, however, requesting that nobody call the police.
“But doctor,” Detective Mouri replies, “he attempted to kill your son!”
Instead, the doctor insists that they should forget the whole ordeal, turns to the kidnapper, puts his arm around the man’s shoulder, and tells him that he understands how the man feels. Like the kidnapper, the man was a “father to a son” before being a doctor.
The rays of sunlight then shine upon the scene as forgiveness prevails. Instead of receiving the punishment that the law would have demanded, the kidnapper receives grace at the hands of someone whose regular job was to save people’s lives.
In the scene, the kidnapper had made confession to the father’s son and repents from the greater evil that he was intending to do.
In all this, the kidnapper had asked the doctor’s son to forgive him. This shows the kidnapper’s humility upon repentance. He was humble enough to ask for forgiveness, hands and knees on the ground, to someone whose honor status in society was less than his own. (Recall that he asked the son for forgiveness, not the father, and that consequently, the father forgave him! So yes, there’s sort of an element of vicarious atonement in this as well.)
On a totally different level, the imagery also brings back to mind the imagery of Abraham and Isaac in some sense, since the kidnapper was putting a knife to the young child, received a message against doing so, and complied with that message. So this also shows some level of obedience to the son’s father in the episode 7 scene. In the process of all of this, the kidnapper also came to a greater understanding.
Meanwhile, the son’s own gratitude to the kidnapper despite the fact that the kidnapper was planning to kill him also is telling. The child had interpreted each gift he had received as a bit of grace and reacted in humble gratitude, which is just how the child of God is supposed to react to grace.
In all, the episode is a beautiful piece covering a multitude of themes.
Sample Evidence #2
The second of these episodes is Magic File 2. Now, some of the Magic Files in the series bring the viewer back to chronologically before the start of the actual series (by 2 to 3 years). Magic File 2 is the episode in which Kudo is known for being a troll in making the chem. lab fill with smoke so that he could escape class. In the same episode, Kudo briefly runs into three young pre-K students whom he will in a few years run into again and get to know very, very well. (They follow him around, and he becomes a classmate of theirs.)
Anywho, at the finale of the Magic File episode, Kudo and Ran are walking together in the evening, still at odds from a spat they had a while back about clairvoyance. Ran had claimed that clairvoyance was possible, but Kudo had denied that it was possible, since if everyone could have that power, there would be no need for detectives.
Now, while walking, the two of them are both suddenly struck by someone across the stream singing, of all things, the first verse of the Christian hymn “Amazing Grace.” Now, the setting here is Japan (late 20th century or turn of the millennium), where Christians are a very small minority. So this occurrence would be rather rare in this setting. Almost a Providential act, really, since there’s apparently no church building nearby either.
Nevertheless, Kudo and Ran smile while listening to the song, agree that the song is beautiful, and then go back to discussing Kudo’s case that he had been working on, as though their argument and fussing against one another had ended. The song in effect ended their argument and brought reconciliation.
From a literary standpoint, this is a subtle but very directional point. While it is true that “Amazing Grace” is one of the most well known Christian hymns (even by unbelievers) and while the song was actually being sung in English, the message is still present. (Once more, from other episodes, one learns that Kudo knew English at least somewhat even at about that time in his life.)
So amazing grace apparently brings reconciliation along with it, after one has heard the message.
Sample Evidence #3
The motto of Detective Conan, which is “One Truth Prevails,” puts forth a sentiment that the Christian apologist can agree with. In the detective context, the “truth” is a “truth-claim” or “claim to the truth.” The detective, who is in some sense a truth-seeker, thus ensures through due diligence that only one claim to the truth prevails in the end. Various crime suspects may put forth all different manner of claims concerning what really happened in the past, but only one narrative will be accepted in the end.
Philosophically speaking, the catch-phrase motto functions as a repudiation against post-modernism and relativism. Those two philosophies have also been denounced by the Christian educational establishment and several high profile apologists such as Ravi Zacharias. So the motto is acceptable.
Investigator Bias
Ok. Now is probably the time for me to admit some personal bias. The scientist-inventor Dr. Agasa in the series regularly gives the young kiddos quizzes to solve, and these quizzes generally tie into some kind of pun. I must confess, as a literary thinker, I am a sucker for the puns. (Shakespeare used puns too you know, so it can’t be all that bad, right?) Overall, however, mild clean comedy does have its place in a narrative, and such comedy is accomplished by the series in many instances.
The drawing of the Conan character is generally rather charming, which flows well, given that early elementary aged students are generally rather cute. It may even constitute an incentive to keep watching the show itself. The (ClassicNemo) jazz done for the show served as a quality complement to the visuals, setting the proper moods at the proper times. Moreover, as an audio art, I must confess, I do like me the jazz, including the good old fashioned sax. I believe my biases have not hindered this investigation, but rather, that they have helped highlight additional strengths of the anime in question.
A Few Caveats
As with anything, the Christian apologist is best to never fully endorse any work of artistry or literature which is not Divinely inspired or his own writing. Therefore, I cannot fully endorse the anime series (or really, just about any anime series). There are a few episodes in the series which include some disagreeable elements, and some audiences might also shrink back from the realistic depictions of crime scenes.
The amount of profanity in the series depends on the episode. In the English dubbed episodes (early episodes in the series), however, profanity is rare. However, on the whole, given the circumstances involved in the narrative, the use of profanity is realistic.
Overall, the series generally views the “3 religions of Japan” in a positive light, which is a bit surprising on an ideological level (though not a financial one––the fewer audiences offended, the better). What this also means is that those who oppose the values of Christianity, Buddhism, and Shintoism are often put in a negative light (even if it is just comically negative).
A brief note on Japanese anime and Detective anime
As commentators have noted, even without a Christian-specific industry of anime-production, a substantial portion of anime does have Christian terminology, Christian symbolism, and or Christian themes in the storyline. These themes include the depravity of man, forgiveness, grace (occasionally), problems concerning lust, problems concerning bitterness, and the need for reconciliation.
On another level, concepts such as courage, friendship, self-sacrifice, and humility many more can be found as well and can be seen as positive themes. At times, conceited individuals also receive what they deserve. Detective anime is likely one of the best anime genres for focusing on the need for forgiveness as well as the consequences that can occur from trying to take vengeance or succumbing to one’s own bitterness.
However, of course, we should not use just any anime. In some anime, the sides that the audiences are given to like are simply a greater or lesser of evils. Some anime is just simply too over-the-top to be of much use, and some anime out there is rather pornographic. So viewer discernment is advised.
Recommendation for Adjudication and Execution
So then, what is my recommendation concerning apologetics? How can we really actualize the cultural apologetics vision? Well, one way is to make use of what is already there. I’ve already given two examples of episodes that someone can actually use to at least illustrate some Christian points. In other words, anime can have a didactic value, especially if discussed explicitly after a group viewing of the anime. (This is also the case for anime based on passages of Scripture such as “My Last Day,” which is another route that one can take.)
However, this is about much more than using what is already here. Detective Conan can be used as a model for the creation of successful Christian anime used for cultural apologetics. Everything from the motto to the principal themes to the very genre itself. The way that the series is constructed, combining visual and audio elements into a cohesive whole. The care to keep things serious when they need to be and include some comic relief as well. All of this goes into what needs to be in a Christian anime series.
On the whole, it is best to avoid being “peachy and preachy” in the production of media.By focusing on Christian themes and giving the message with a gentle touch, we may very well get a greater Gospel impact and greater credibility in the media world. While detective genre may serve us the best in this, we should also not limit ourselves unnecessarily (even within the detective genre itself–-as one can develop a physical, spiritual, or even spirit detective series).
Case Closed. The soccer ball is on the field. Now, can we muster up a team that can score some goals?
Recommended References:
Campus Crusade for Christ. “My Last Day.” 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIDYvg73RuM. Accessed 2015.
Christian Apologetics Alliance. Social media forum discussions.
ClassicNemo. “Detective Conan Soundtrack [##].” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0QEV26ovAQ&list=PLB1B3246EA33CF4BC. Accessed 2015. Web.
Eryn Sun. “Classic ‘JESUS’ Film Now in Japanese Anime.” Christian Post. http://www.christianpost.com/news/classic-jesus-film-now-in-japanese-anime-49841/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2015. Web.
Detective Conan [Case Closed]. Series. Episodes 1, 2, 7, Magic File 2, Magic File 6, and various other episodes, plus various Detective Conan movies (Dimensional Sniper, Countdown to Heaven, etc.). Includes Funimation English dubbing for some of series.
End Notes:
Remember to include some jazz. Good stuff. Good stuff.
Rank and File 