Movie React/Analysis: ASURA

(Asura is one of the best movies I've encountered in my life, I first watched this when I was on 10th grade when a close friend lend me a DVD containing several anime movies. I was only planning to watch the film Blood C back then but I accidentally clicked Asura instead and the rest is history. This film is severely underrated, if you're not a fan of gore and violent films well this movie is not suited for you, but I guarantee you no matter what type of movies you prefer you will still love it.)

Asura is a Japanese animated film directed by Keiichi Sato and based on a manga of the same name by George Akiyama. This movie tells the story of Asura, a feral child living on his own after being abandoned by his mother who tried to eat him when he was still an infant. Since then the boy has survived by killing and eating dying people during the desperate periods of floods and famine. Asura takes us to a medieval era in Japan where famine is widespread and everyone struggles to survive. Through his journey, however, he was able to witness how human beings interact and began to waver from his animalistic path towards the path of being a human. It takes us deep within the depth of human nature and forces us to struggle with the questions what does it mean to be human? Are we just a product of our own environment? What could we be willing to do in order to survive?.

The film gave us an intriguing view of how humans will react if they are pitted into a horrible situation. At the beginning of the film we see people fighting over water and there are also some who resorted to cannibalism due to the lack of food. Humans indeed are rational beings but when it comes to survival, this rational humans possess the capability to turn into their beastly nature in order to satisfy itself of its hunger and thirst for his necessities. Most humans are unable to resist the urge if their primeval instincts when it comes to survival, a thing that is very existent nowadays. At the beginning of the pandemic (COVID-19) we saw people fighting over toilet papers, fighting over basic goods and until now wars are waged in the name of natural resources.

The film shows how the "need" of humans to survive in a dreadful situation affects even the morality of people who were supposed to be adhering at a certain moral code, an example of it is clearly shown when Sichiro stole his friends foods in order to feed Wakasa and Wakasa's father regretted not selling his daughter before they ran out of food. Wakasa's father is a very honorable person at the beginning, he even threatened to kill the man who encouraged him to sell his own daughter. But his morals gradually deteriorated as their state of living gradually turned worst. Before the final encounter of Asura and Jito, Wakasa's father can still hold into his moral convictions when he did not forced Wakasa to sell herself but just barely suggest when they are at the verge of death due to prolonged hunger. During that time he hasn't lost his humanity yet but the tables turned when Asura, who was then hunted by Jito and the villagers, arrived to offer Wakasa a meat to eat. Wakasa was reluctant believing that it was human meat on the other hand Wakasa's father willingly ate the meat regardless if it's human meat or not. 

Seeing Asura's mother abandon him due to starvation twisting her mind and Wakasa's father casting the very lesson (which is to not eat human flesh) he taught to his daughter aside showed me how the environment and situation can sway a person to do things that are morally unacceptable. Asura uses this to justify his cannibalism by saying people are inherently just creatures who feast on each other in times of suffering and will do whatever it takes to survive. 

Asura met some powerful influences on his character, people who are very essential for his development as a human. The first human who showed him a new path is the Buddhist monk whom he had fought and tried to eat in a bridge, He gave the name Asura to the then feral and vicious kid after seeing the image of Ashura within him due to the beast that resides within him combined with his Savage and violent nature. The monk taught Ashura a simple sutra hoping that someday he will be more human, Asuras life changed the moment he met the monk. Second is Wakasa, the woman who cared for him and provided him motherly love and affection that he never experienced since being born. Wakasa showed compassion to Asura and taught him how to speak, Asura gradually became more human in Wakasas care. Last is Jito and the villagers, Jito is his final opponent who wanted to avenge the death of his son who was killed by Asura.

Each characters represents different types of people in the society, Wakasas character represents those who are morally stable, the people whom you can depend with at turbulent times. They are the type of people who will show you care and compassion, but like Wakasa this kind of people are not perfect. The villagers and Wakasa's father represents the people who are not very thoughtful of their actions, people who can be easily exploited and controlled, I think the fact that they are many as shown in the film is quite important given the truth that people like them exist in huge numbers in today's society. Jito represents corruption and selfishness, while the Buddhist monk represent those people who will guide and open a new path for you.

His journey into becoming a human is a painful one, before reaching that goal he will have to come through a lot of tragedies, deaths and suffering. At first he never understand the essence of being a human given the fact that he lived like an animal for the past 8 years, he never felt any human feelings and has never received any patience and kindness from other people. 

Wakasa performed a crucial role in shaping Asura, she doesn't only taught Asura to speak but she also introduced Asura to human feelings. As time passed by he developed several human emotions like excitement and happiness whenever Wakasa arrives to feed him. Asura learned to love, be jealous and ultimately learned emotional pain for the first time in his life. The peak of his struggles arrived when Wakasa showed her anger and resentment to Asura after he tried to attack Sichiro out of anger and dismay. Despite teaching love and care to Asura she showed the opposite at this single incident. Which means that even the kindest humans has the tendency to express extreme hatred.

Asura may not be able to notice it but he has became more human, the fact that he can now contemplate pain and emotion, he can feel regret and sadness is enough proof that he's not the beast he used to be. From a savage being into a young kid who can philosophise the pain of existence and suffering. Upon realizing this things he started to indirectly resent himself for being human to the the point where he regrets being born. In order to prove that he is not a beast the monk cut his own arm for Asura to eat, but Asura who is a cannibal refused to eat the monks arm.

Asura's journey makes us realize that we are humans not simply because we are rational but also because we have the ability to feel and understand the reason why we feel such emotions. Suffering is an integral part of being a human, we suffer because we are human. Our existence doesn't offer happiness alone but a variety of emotions that each of us need to feel in order to fully develop our humanness. 

The journey of Asura shows us that humans can turn into monsters according to circumstances and that monsters can also be redeemed. Everyone has a beastly nature, but we also have a heart. Some may not be able to resist against our inner demons when it comes to survival but that doesn't mean that humans don't have hearts. Even if the world is dark and gloomy there are also some who will act as the light of humanity, just like Wakasa's steadfast act of keeping her morals even if her refusal to eat the meat (which she thought was human flesh) that had  eventually cost her life. 

At the end of the movie Asura has become more human but the villagers who considered Asura as a beast became the beast themselves which is ironic, all of it because they failed to defeat the beast that lurks within them. Asura thought me that humans can live no matter what troubles they face, humans can cope up and continue to live. Asura is the light in such a darkened dying world and that his redemption paves way for a renaissance to take place. He became an undying light that serves as a proof that Life always finds a way; even through the most difficult times and the worst crimes life still continues to go on and that is what makes the world BEAUTIFUL. No matter how many mistakes you've done in the past, as long as there is life you must continue on living and strive to do good to atone for those sins.

The World Is Beautiful ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Written by: Zeus R. Gongob