#isreal has right to defend and fight back

[maidenofmidguard]

[useless-catalanfacts]

Pls pls pls share any info you have about marches and solidarity in Catalunya/Barcelona for our brothers in Palestine. I don’t see anything. A genocide is happening as we speak, that has been going on for 70 years of struggle for freedom. They are civilians, with the majority under 18, not Hamas. They have no water, no electricity, no hospitals. They’re told to run for their lives like animals but the borders are closed!!!! Isreal bombed Lebanon and Egypt to stop them from even opening their doors. This isn’t a war. They are being buried alive, families are staying home in the hope of dying together. Imagine going to the funeral of a friend and coming back home to your kids under rubble, the faces and garden burned by white phosphorus. The media relying countless debunked lies. Nothing said of the illegal settlement, kidnapping, sexual abuse, UN crimes against humanity, nothing is done. The US and Europe are rolling out laws to stop even showing the Palestinian flag, can’t write on insta or twitter. Few jewish ppl are speaking up against the violences but are immediately shut down. Anyone expressing support is automatically a terrorist. Sounds familiar? Sounds fascist? Have we forgotten that the colonizer’s gov has always been religious far-right since it’s creation. They desperately want to us to believe they are defending themselves in a 2 sided war. It’s not 2 sided when one side is being obliterated with and the other side can take a commercial light to their second house in New York. It’s not 2 sided when one side is waiting for death and the other side can go around the corner to a McDonald to cry about how horrible it is that the other McDonald is closed. Nothing makes sense. I feel sick. My heart cries, their struggle is our struggle, of all the oppressed minorities fighting for their right to freedom, their right to speak their language and live on their lands

Hi. Hm I think if you haven't seen anything, you haven't been looking much, nor watching the news. There have already been rallies to show support to Palestine in Barcelona.

Last Monday in Plaça Sant Jaume, Barcelona:

Photos shared by Crida LGBTI.

On Wednesday, hundreds protested in front of the EU delegation in Barcelona:

Photo from Europa Press.

Today (Saturday) again, more than 700 hundred people have marched in the center of Barcelona:

Photo from ACN.

The movement in solidarity with Palestine has been very strong in the Catalan Countries for decades. You can keep up by following the Palestinian and solidarity organisations in our country, I'll copy-paste the links from a post I made some months ago:

Organitzacions de solidaritat dels Països Catalans amb Palestina:

Prou complicitat amb Israel: web, Instagram, Twitter.

BDS Catalunya: web, Twitter.

BDS País Valencià: Instagram, Twitter.

Comunitat Palestina a Catalunya: web, Twitter, Instagram.

I a nivell internacional:

Jewish Voices for Peace: web, Instagram.

BDS National Committee: web, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

(That being said, of course Israel is the only one who can stop the violence because they're the ones who are occupying Palestine and enacting violence on Palestinians every single day since the creation of the state of Israel, but there are parts of your ask that don't seem very tactful where right now there is also Israeli people dying. That doesn't change the fact that this was fabricated by their state, but I don't think it does anyone any favour to pretend like they're not having a bad time as well. It just seems like an odd way of phrasing this.)

[queerdiazs]

Why is everyone blaming isreal? Isreal is fighting back! The palestenians build an elaborate war getup underground and attacked isreal last year. I genuinely just want to understand why Isreal is the baddies here. They did not start this, Isreal will fight for their people till the end as the raid of entebbe has proved.

,,, if you’re gonna defend israel at least spell that shit right

[yourapple56-blog]

I have to get something off of my chest.

I am really sick and tired of the hypocrisy of the Pro-Isreal camp.

Now, Harvard President Claudine Gay is being accused of 40 counts of plagiarism.

Seriously?!

Why didn't these allegations come up before this whole protest scandal?

Ms. Gay was defending free speech for the protestors. Disgusting free speech, but free speech nonetheless.

Free speech needs to be defended, even for individuals such as Richard Spencer and Donald Trump.

The ACLU would tell you that.

A student should not be punished for saying something disgusting, they should be punished if they have made threats to anyone, or called an individual or individuals nasty things.

There was a student at Cornell who sent threats to Jewish individuals and was promptly expelled and arrested, as he should have been.

There was another student back in the 1990s who assaulted a black student on campus. He was expelled, as he should have been.

Their conduct went beyond free speech, and that is what these college presidents were talking about.

Have we suddenly forgotten what free speech is?

These "allegations" feel like a bullshit hit job to me.

But, we shall see.

But before I go, I need to ask a question.

When has any Pro-Isreal individual condemn Anti-Muslim sentiment anywhere, including on college campuses?

Anti-Muslim sentiment is only being challenged now because there are a lot more Muslims in this country than there were back in the day, so it's not so easy to get away with it now.

Writer Bari Weiss tried to get an Arab professor fired because of his Pro-Palestine stance back when she was a student at Columbia.

Norman Finkelstein, who is a scholar of Jewish origin, has been hounded and harassed to the point where he can't get work at any school because of his Pro-Palestinian stance. This has been going on for years.

Yet, no one bats an eye on those two cases.

Why is Medhi Hasan losing his show on MSNBC?

I'm telling you, this is a hit job.

Now, I personally have a complicated relationship with free speech.

I recognize its importance even though you will never see me marching out in the street for it, because I will not put myself out there for the likes of Richard Spencer or Farrakhan though I will not fight against it either because it would mean endangering my right to free speech and those who I agree with.

We need to remember what free speech is, or we are going to get ourselves in big trouble.

And I'm seeing that trouble happening now.

We should be afraid.

Very much so.

The other reason why these presidents are being targeted is because of wealthy donors being upset over the pro-Palestine sentiment of the protestors.

Money muscling its way into free speech.

This should get you worried, because what's happening to these college presidents is what's going to happen on a more regular basis where free speech is concerned.

If a donor is offended by a president's stance, then you simply pull out your funds. You do not get the government involved where they bully people, and those female presidents were being bullied-by congress and the donors using government might.

Make no mistake about it.

Your right to put your money where you mouth is should be your right.

Silencing free speech should not be anyone's right.

And with that, I wish you all a very pleasant evening.

Bye for now.

Good Night.

And let's try to be kind to one another.

[mariacallous]

What Next?

Against a backdrop of growing Palestinian frustration and anger containment became more of a challenge. Hamas was working out how to breach Israel’s defences. It had long had its rockets as a means of taking the war to Israel but their impact was neutralized by the Iron Dome. On Saturday it launched hundreds simultaneously so that, at least temporarily, it overwhelmed the Iron Dome and some rockets hit targets deep into Israel. More seriously it breached the fence with bulldozers, jumped over it with paragliders and went round it by sea. Many of these moves were thwarted but enough of the first wave were successful to allow border posts to be overrun, hostages taken, and random civilians killed when militants came upon them. Although the operations inside Israel should soon be over, the murder of pensioners and the desecration of bodies will add to pressure on the Israeli government to exact retribution.

Israel is already hurting Hamas back with air strikes attacking infrastructure. More significantly Gaza is being deprived of much of its electricity and water supplies, and its internet has been hit. IDF Chief Spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari told a press conference that airstrikes ‘would significantly intensify and would eliminate all Hamas terror infrastructure, all houses of terror commanders, and all symbols of Hamas' rule.’ But in the end these are buildings, and new buildings can always be found, and for that matter new fighters and leaders.

It has also called up reservists and appears to be preparing to once again re-enter Gaza. The pressure for it to do so will be considerable, but there are also reasons for caution.

First, Hamas will be prepared. This will be a tough fight. Even a limited incursion could be costly.

Second, the IDF neither has the capacity nor the staying power to take control of Gaza. This remains a territory of 2 million people, and as they have nowhere else to go, they will stay, still angry.

Third, for Israel the greatest danger is that the conflict spreads, stretching the IDF, and the Iron Dome, even more. The Lebanese group Hezbollah has praised the operation, and linked it to attempts by Arab governments to improve relations with Israel. According to its leader Hassan Nasrallah

‘It sends a message to the Arab and Islamic world, and the international community as a whole, especially those seeking normalization with this enemy, that the Palestinian cause is an everlasting one, alive until victory and liberation.’

I presume that if Hezbollah was part of the plan they would have attacked at the same time to maximise the impact. Iran supports both groups, and it will be considering how much a wider war would complicate its own attempts to normalise relations with the Gulf Arabs. If the fighting drags on, and the images turn to those of Israeli strikes against Gaza, the pressures for Hezbollah to get involved with grow. Hezbollah has already made a gesture by sending rockets and shells against three Israeli positions in the contested Mount Dov region on the border with Lebanon. Isreal responded with artillery and a drone strike. Similarly with the West Bank. Abbas has observed that the Palestinians have a right to defend themselves, without going further, but there must be a risk, whether or not he wills it, of freelance action against Israeli settlers, and for that matter by settler groups against Palestinians.

Fourth, what about the fate of the 100 hostages taken by Hamas and Islamic Jihad (which has also been playing an active role in the attacks)? There was little pattern to the hostage taking (15 Thais are reportedly being held) and some appear to have been captured and held by Palestinian civilians. This issue is going to weigh heavily on Israeli calculations.

As for political objectives, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, Muhammad Deif, has said no more than the ‘operation’ was launched so that ‘the enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended. ’It has also been described as being  ‘in defence of the Aqsa mosque.’ Netanyahu has described Israel’s objectives as follows:

‘Our first goal is primarily to clear the territory of the enemy forces that have entered and restore security and calm to the settlements that have been attacked. The second goal, concurrently, is to exact a heavy price from the enemy, even in the Gaza Strip. The third goal is to fortify other areas so no one mistakenly joins this war.’

If Israel wants to contain the conflict it needs to get it over as soon as possible. For the same reason it will serve Hamas best if it can be kept going, raising emotions throughout the region.

Israel, having concluded that it was secure because it had found ways to contain the Palestinians and then largely ignore them, now discovers that this is not so easy. The international attention these events have gained, and the dangers if the violence continues, may encourage new diplomatic initiatives – the Security Council will meet while US Secretary of State has been in touch with all interested parties other than Hamas - but with so much else going on this is not a propitious time. Perhaps Israel’s new friends in the Gulf will identify a way forward, as the Saudis have tried to do in the past. Perhaps the shock of this latest round of fighting will encourage fresh thinking. It is not as if the history lacks examples of attempts to ease the conflict, some of which made progress.  

Local initiatives are more likely. It is hard to see how the hostages can be released safely by a military operation. The Wall Street Journal reports that Egypt has already been asked by Israel to mediate. Egypt was involved with talks underway since May 2021 with Qatar and Hamas (in which Israel has had an input). These were about rebuilding Gaza after past fighting and easing the blockade, in return for a cease-fire. According to Haaretz, they broke down a month ago, when instead of more aid Qatar’s representative in Gaza conveyed only Israel’s warnings against any escalation. These could be revived, although even if a cease-fire now with an easing of the blockade, without Hamas being weakened for the future, would be seen as a defeat for Israel. But if we look back again to 1973 the long-term impact on Israel lay as much in how the fighting started as in how it ended. Being caught out by the first blow was a psychological victory for its adversary and the effects lingered.

[democraticfuture]

I dipped into some of Trump’s speech in Michigan and couldn’t stop watching. It was like a train wreck. Here’s a break down if you want to read about the crazy.

He talked about his 2016 victory and how no one thought he could win Michigan. He railed against the media. He praised, by name, several Fox News hosts. He called out the intelligence community. He talked about how elite he was (school, homes, etc.). He said Democrats shouldn’t investigate him. He talked about how he is building the wall (spoiler: he’s not). He complained about Jussie Smollett and Chicago. He said the Republican Congressmen in the audience got bad seats while thanking them (for something?). He had BREAKING news that he likes lakes (after his budget cut funding to the Great Lakes region)? He bashed the freshly elected Democratic Governor of Michigan for I guess.... also liking lakes? He said his rich friend shouldn’t be shy and that the people of Michigan probably don’t like him because he owns more land the people in the audience (it was weird). Then asked his rich friend how much money he made this month. He talks about how smart people are for investing in the stock market, ignoring that almost half of Americans don’t own stock or have 401(k)s. He has a weird story about how wives must be loving their husbands for their smart investments? Socialism bashing! Some economic numbers, clearly read from prompter. He lies about how he did great with women in 2016 (he didn’t). Talks about cutting regulation. Russia hates him (lol), but Russia is doing fine. Windmills are dumb because you can’t watch TV if there’s no wind. Hypes up his unpopular tax cuts. Talks about how some people hate their children and won’t leave them their businesses (estate tax). Told everyone about how he’s trying to kill Obamacare in the courts. Throws shade at John McCain. “The Republican Party will become the party of great healthcare. It’s good. It’s good.” Hypes up his junk health plans. More socialism bashing. Criticizes Obama’s “You can keep your doctor” line from like 10 years ago. Says people don’t care about their deductibles? Says he will protect people with preexisting conditions (while suing to eliminate laws doing just that). Talks about the VA (while unknowingly arguing for Medicare for All). Praises veterans five minutes after throwing shade at veteran John McCain. Worked in a “You’re fired!”. Criminal justice reform. Democrats have an “agender” of resistance and radicalism. Repeats “resist” a bunch of times for some reason. Apparently doesn’t know what resist means? Lies about the Green New Deal (no more cows! One care per family? Electric cars suck!). How would you get to Europe? NOBODY KNOWS! Kavanaugh and Gorsuch shout outs! Throws shade a Senator Mazie Hirono (Hawaii). Talks about how he “violently” attacked Elizabeth Warren, declaring her candidacy dead. Back to manufacturing (which was DEAD when he took over but he saved it). Mexico needs to do more to protect our border. CATCH AND RELEASE! VISA LOTTERY! Call back to Mexico is sending us criminals and rapists. CARAVANS! Threatening Mexico? Apparently we’re going to shut down the entire southern border (lololol). Closing the border means JOBS. It’s all very simple. Trans-Pacific Partnership slam! NAFTA slam! I guess there’s empty factories all over the place even though he’s bring back the jobs? Continues to show that he has no idea what trade deficits are. Talks about USMCA without giving any details about it, threatens to withdraw from NAFTA as leverage. Hypes up his tariffs. I guess there’s a chicken tax or something? You would think the only kind of jobs America has is manufacturing. He tells everyone that he’s fighting with the unions and GM. Back to the borders and extremist Democrats who want open borders and crime. Immigrant criminals are invading. Now we’re talking about how drugs are smuggled across the border and people are dying and you can’t believe the official numbers. Proud to have vetoed a bipartisan condemnation of his national emergency. Somehow House Republicans gave him money to build the wall? He’s going to a certain place (shhh its a secret) to show the people some of his brand new wall. 2020 is gonna be easier than 2016. He’s 1 for 1 in elections! He’s never debated but he was always center stage! He never said he was going to create jobs? Back to the border and Democrats. 4 MORE YEARS! 4 MORE YEARS! He’s gonna give us a question: lowest unemployment rate for African Americans! (wait...) He did a good job during his first election. 2020 will be easy. Democrats caused the border crises so they can get votes. Democrats want AMNESTY! Lawyers are helping refugees who all look like heavy weight champions. Sanctuary cities aren’t protecting borders. Its not the money! Walls work. Call it whatever you want but he called it a wall and he got the money anyway. 4,000 troops at our border and they’re fantastic. We're defending other countries' borders but not our own! We love ICE. Donald Trump likes making cars. Immigrant statistics. Democrats want to get rid of very tough people at ICE. Democrats want to set violent offenders free. ICE and border patrol are HEROES. We're throwing immigrants in jail or out of our country! MS-13. Democrats want to kill babies. Democrats love taxes, abortion, hoaxes and delusions. Republicans are the party of real Americans. Promises Made, Promises Kept! Talks about his pointless college campus free speech order. The American military is more powerful than ever. Withdrew us from Iran nuclear deal and now Iran is a different country. Opened the American embassy in Jerusalem and recognized the Golan Highs as part of Isreal (“very important, very important”). Venezuela is a mess. Constitution and Rule of Law! Dignity of Work and Sanctity of Life! Faith and Family! Religious Liberty! Free Speech! The right to keep and bear arms! Children should be taught to love their country and to respect the flag. USA! USA! USA! We're not changing the words of the national motto. Back to the 2016 election; it was the most exciting campaign in the history of the country. It was a historic day. We're getting out of foreign wars. They stood up to the rigged power structure in DC and he won't forget it and they will be very proud. They took back their country. TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP! Donald Trump is loyal to them. Michigan will never be forgotton ever again (does Flint have clean water yet?). We're winning so big and nobody ever thought it could happen. We're going to take a beautiful stand. The people of Michigan are inspiring and we're going to make American wealthy. America is strong again. America is safe again. America is GREAT AGAIN. Then he walks out to creepy music.

[ossatvre]

MICHAEL is an UNKNOWN year old DEMISEXUAL, GENDERLESS, HE/HIM, ARCHANGEL. Some people say they look a lot like CHRIS HEMSWORTH. They are COURAGEOUS but can be TEMPERMENTAL. They are WITH Heaven. They are looking to become a GUARDIAN ANGEL.

Titles and Nicknames: Saint Michael the Archangel and Seraph, God’s Right Hand Man, Prince of the Angelic Hosts, Protector of Mankind, Leader of the Angelic Host, Michael the Healer, the Angel of Peace, the Defender of the Faith, the Angel of Deliverance, and the Terror of the Evil Spirits.

Rank: According to some Catholic interpretations, Michael started off as an archangel (and remains one) but was elevated to Seraphim (guardians of the throne of God) upon Lucifer’s revolt and Prince of Angels upon his victory. This was due to his humbleness, love, faith, and devotion to God.

Responsibilities and Powers:

Prior to his ascension, he was a guardian angel who mostly focused on guarding, healing, and guiding his charges. He had a profound sense of justice and was willing to turn a blind eye on acts committed by charges (and even sometimes assist them) when he deemed the actions just. He was known to favor truthful charges.

Later, his responsibilities were to lead the guardian angels protecting the kingdom of Isreal and its children. God dumped quite a bit of responsibility on him, giving him some of the most important figures to guard, guide, and heal. He also has a history of policing lower ranking angels and punishing the ones who interfered or obstructed God’s plans for Isreal and its people.

His power increased monumentally upon ascension to Seraphim. He carries with him a flaming blue sword and appears to have the ability to control the weather, with powerful bolts lightening being his signature move to end a fight. He has been tasked with protecting souls and delivering them to God for Judgement when Rapture finally happens and to lead a legion of angels against Lucifer and her demons for one final battle.

Other abilities: to appear as and control fire, to calm others, to instill courage and strength.

Other Tidbits

His favorite color is blue. He has blue armor, a blue sword, his lightning is described as blue, and his light a royal blue.

When trying to blend in with humanity, he does not take up the appearance of a wealthy individual. Rather, he will appear as a person of low income or even at times as a homeless person.

Injustice, poverty, corruption, abuse, oppression, and exploitation can set him off.

He’s quite offended by the fact that he was made the patron saint of law enforcement and police officers by the Church. The easiest way to piss him off is to show him an abusive, hateful cop wearing his image on a pendant or invoking his name in a prayer.

He’s very lonely and misses the camaraderie he had when he was just an ordinary angel. Being a leader, he’s found, is quite isolating given how busy he is.

He doesn’t like being called a prince or anything formal. The only time he expects to be called General is at formal settings or on the battlefield.

While he mostly relies on his own judgment when carrying out God’s plan, but there are individuals who he will hold back for and wait for God to respond to his prayer with her decision before doing anything (Lucifer, for instance).

He’s got the angelic equivalent of PTSD and occasionally deals with imposter syndrome but he does try his best to hide how he feels behind a cheerful mask. 

[j2wholeness]

Intimidated?

We all have situations, circumstances, people in our lives that can intimidate us.  A diagnosis from the doctor, the loss of a job, a domineering co-worker.  In fact even positive things in our lives can intimidate us - a new job (how am I going to do this?), a new baby (this is harder than I thought!), and new home (how am I ever going to keep up?)

The voice of intimidation is quick to enter in.

In the Bible, David faced the same thing in I Samuel 17 when he met Goliath.  The bible says he was a giant and was threatening the people of God. Aggressive, he shouted threats, insults and mocked David.

David could have entered into this war of words with Goliath.  But instead he PAUSED, and then he REFUSED the invitation to engage in doubt, worry, or fear.  

David hadn’t come there for Goliath to tell him WHO he was.  David knew WHOSE He was.The war he came to fight wasn’t one to establish whether he was called, qualified, or able. 

Instead David shouted back:  “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Isreal”.

He not only let Goliath know, the voice of intimidation, that he was called, qualified and able by God himself -- but in doing so, he was REMINDING HIMSELF that he didn’t have to use up any mental energy to defend what was true.  That the voice of intimidation had no right or power to undo what God had already promised He would do.

Where in your life has that voice of intimidation been trying to engage you?  What is it that you were sure that God was with you in - but you’re doubting now?  What is it that has you wondering if God was ever even with you?

Proverbs 3:6 says TRUST God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  LISTEN for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.  Don’t assume that you know it all.  Run to God!

When intimidation next invites you to entertain DOUBT, WORRY AND FEAR, let intimidation know that there is a peace that surpasses you and an anchor for your soul - that’s God  Let the lies that come at you know - God’s truth sets you free.

[100wordanime]

For the month of March I’ve decided I’m going to focus on the negative. Quite literally. I’m going to focus my features this month on exploring types of conflict in stories using examples from anime. To start off with I decided to go with the most straight forward: Man vs Man.

Or Human vs Human.

Or Alien Robot Thing vs Interstellar Goop.

Whatever works for you. What’s improtant about this type of conflict is that there are at least two sides each represented by a character or group of characters. Pretty much every Gundam series ever nails this type of conflict by setting up different factions with conflicting agendas and then the story sits back and waits for the inevitible chaos.

This type of conflict works for a few simple reasons.

01. Generally the goals fo the opposing forces are known and clear. This guy wants to save the girl that the other guy kidnapped. That army wants to overrun that land and the army over there wants to stop them. This girl is going to hunt down the guy who killed her father and return the favour, meanwhile the guy doesn’t want to die. Whether the audience sees all perspectives or not is irrelevant. We pretty much know who is who and what they want.

02. Because the characters have opposing goals, they are moving toward each other and the story pushes them into conflict adding excitement and tension to the story. Basically, because they all want things, they are actively seeking them out and this gives plenty of opportunities for interactions, skirmishes, surprise ambushes, negotiations, or any of dozens of other things that could make the story interesting.

03. People get it. They face conflict with other people every single day so when they see a character getting blocked from achieving their goal they can relate. They also get really happy when the ‘bad’ guy gets taken down because it gives them some vicarious satisfaction that somehow their obstacles will eventually get mowed down.

How does this work in anime?

Like most medium for story telling anime has done pretty much everything imaginable with this particular theme however where we see it most obviously is in action anime.

Case 1: Bleach (Not yet reviewed)

While there are other types of conflict driving the events of Bleach from time to time (with over 300 episodes you would hope it was more complex than he stole my chewing gum), the story continues to come back to the idea of man vs man.

In the early seasons, Ichigo literally works his way up through increasingly stronger opponents to reach his goal of saving Rukia. It’s why the first seasons of Bleach are incredibly satisfying. After a season of learning how to kind of be a shinigami, Ichigo has a simple goal placed in front of him. Save Rukia from execution in Soul Society. The audience gets this, they respect that goal, and most of the viewers want to see Ichigo succeed.

However, the various shinigami of Soul Society don’t want Ichigo to succeed (and yes we do cross a little into Man vs Society but for the most part Ichigo isn’t focussed on bringing the society down, just the next opponent standing in front of him). The shinigami he faces have a variety of motivations, which ultimately keep the story interesting, but their goal is simple. Stop the intruder. Once again, the audience gets this goal. Ichigo has barged into a world he doesn’t belong in and is disrupting things. It makes sense that those who live there are choosing to defend it.

Ichigo vs Ikkaku is a great example of this. While Ikkaku isn’t exactly the hard working drone of society, he does love a good fight and Ichigo more or less falls into his lap (which results in the lucky dance, and please let us never remember that). I like this battle for a few reasons. Ichigo isn’t yet ridiculously overpowered and it really is just grit and determination that keep him from being seriously killed (that and Ikkaku isn’t really being too serious which costs him). I also like Ichigo’s logic as to why he chooses to fight rather than run, as a certain other character did. His decision to stand and fight wasn’t totally pig-headed for once but rather a simple understanding that if Ikkaku was stronger than him, running was not going to help. Ichigo essentially has to cut Ikkaku down in order to continue his quest to save Rukia because Ikkaku is not going to back away from this fight.

However, it is Ichigo vs Byakuya that most clearly expresses this idea of opposing goals. Byakuya is 100% convinced that he must follow the law and so has personally made it his absolute duty to ensure Rukia’s execution is carried out in accordance to the law, even though she’s his adopted sister. This fight is one of the best in Bleach and comes as Ichigo’s power isreally coming into its own. What really works about this conflict is that we’ve seen these two characters coming toward each other for quite some time and we knew by this time that neither character could or would back down. While the outcome is kind of obvious, it is definitely a fight worth watching, although you are advised to watch out for cheesy shonen dialogue being shouted mid-battle.

Case 2: Death Note (Not yet reviewed)

Alright, let’s take the swords, bows, and other pointy weapons away and look at this type of conflict in a more modern setting. Modern but with a note book that can kill you. Arguably, Light and L absolutely define the man vs man conflict. From the contrasting blue and red colours they are painted in during the opening to their declaration that they both represent justice (and cannot both be right) everything about Death Note pits these two against each other. There are other characters hunting Kira down but we all know that this story revolves around these two characters and the mind games they play with one another.

What works particularly well about this story is that both characters have strengths and weaknesses. L has the power of the police and large information networks for much of the story meanwhile he is missing the crucial bit of information he needs. That is, he doesn’t know about the existence of the Death Note and even once that is revealed he is given false information as to how it works which throws him off. Light on the other hand has access to police information, knowledge of the notebook and death gods, but has a massive ego and tends to act rashly when provoked.

Watching these two maneuvre around each other and manipulate situations to try to get more information is truly fantastic and one of the best man vs man conflicts I’ve watched. What is really fascinating is that you honestly don’t know which side you want to see win. Yes, Kira is a mass-murderer and Light progressively becomes more unhinged as the story goes on (or was always unhinged and finally revealed it). But, he is taking out criminals and the world is changing. More importantly, we spend time with Light early on and he’s a charming character. While you probably wouldn’t want to meet him in real life, as a character you are sympathetic to his cause and as he is arguable the protagonist of the duo he is kind of the one you are positioned to stand behind. L on the otherhand is introduced later and it takes a fair while before he becomes anything more than an intriguing idea in the story. By the time you warm up to him, it is hard to really want his victory even though technically you know Light should be stopped.

I won’t spoil how this ends for those who haven’t seen it but it is definitely a story to check out.

Conclusion

While man vs man might seem like an overused plot line, when used well it can be highly effective and entertaining. That doesn’t stop lazy writing from causing some realy problems. Like what happens when there is no opposition worth noting or the opposition exists but you don’t really know why they care about stopping the protagonist. We see this a lot in romantic storylines where a girl will declare herself a rival but other than being painful they serve no point in the story and mostly we all just wish they would go away so we could focus on the actual relationship and its genuine drama rather than plot contrived ones (not looking at Orange).

So let’s open this up. I’d love to hear what your favourite man vs man conflict in an anime is and why.

Are you a fan of 100WordAnime.blog?

If you like this site and you like what I do, please consider becoming a patron.

Thanks,

Karandi James.

Friday’s Feature: We’ve Got a Problem Here – Man vs Man For the month of March I've decided I'm going to focus on the negative. Quite literally. I'm going to focus my features this month on exploring types of conflict in stories using examples from anime.