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hecates-corner · 4 months

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Even though there’s not a single myth on it, I’d like to think Aphrodite couldn’t give a shit about her sexuality.

She gets bored one day, and particularly curious, and heads down to earth. As she wanders around the markets in her mortal disguise, her attention is caught by a kind woman buying apples. Aphrodite wanders over, curious. She’s so beautiful, not so much that she challenges the goddess’ beauty, obviously, but she’s got these delicate features mixed with a sharp nose that stand out to Aphrodite. She likes how she looks.

The woman notices her, smiles politely, but seems captivated by Aphrodite’s beauty, even in her mortal state. She greets her, and Aphrodite likes that. Her voice.

She reaches for an apple, so Aphrodite picks it up and studies it, as if it’s at all interesting to her. She twirls it in the light, then looks up, and extends it to the woman, offering it.

As the woman takes it carefully, she twines her fingers in Aphrodite’s, for just a moment. It couldn’t have been an accident.

So Aphrodite, smiling softly, asks for her name.

The woman gives it.

Days later, Aphrodite is lounging on Olympus, twirling a strand of her hair and thinking about that woman she’d met. She was like no other, beautiful and prim and yet so powerfully attractive. Aphrodite bids her lover farewell on Olympus, Ares is gone to fight another war. A small one, but a war nonetheless.

She is bored. And roused. She wishes to go and have some sort of good time, but does not know what precisely to do. With Ares gone, and the others truly uninteresting, she huffs in annoyance. Then a thought occurs, perhaps she should simply go and find that woman again. Or attend some festival, who knows?

So Aphrodite takes the form of a dove, and soars through the air, searching. Her eyes land on a stream, sensing there is someone there she wishes to meet.

When she lands, she transforms into the same maiden she had been days ago. She tousles her skirts, and slinks out from behind the tree she used as coverage, and spies a woman with her back turned.

The woman is tying back her hair, perhaps readying herself to wash her face, or take a swim. It is awfully balmy that day, so either is plausible. She turns, and is surprised by the sight of Aphrodite, in disguise.

She blinks, but smiles a moment later. “I knew I had not seen the last of you.”

Aphrodite raises a brow. “You were so sure?”

“I would believe so, goddess. For you must know I was not finished seeking your company.”

Aphrodite is surprised. No one speaks to her in such a way, or calls her on her bluff so quickly.

“You are hasty to supplicate me, dear.” She says, just so.

“No, I am not hasty.” The woman replies. “I am bold.”

Aphrodite smiles.

“If I were a goddess, perhaps,” she begins. “Would you have me?”

The woman chuckles. “I think I am much too consumed by my thoughts of you to care whether or not you are a goddess.” She glances Aphrodite up, and down. “I would have you only if you sought me.”

And the line of the stream between them is much too large, suddenly. Aphrodite reaches for the pins of her dress.

“Come.” She says, a light smile playing at her lips. “Let us swim. It is much too hot to be standing here exchanging polite words.”

When all is said and done, and Aphrodite lays back against the bank of the river, her sweat and exertion mixing with the cleansing drops of water slipping from her locks of hair, she holds the woman close to her. Skin upon skin, tender and simple, for a moment. Pleasant. Just to be here, just to be. Just.

She cards her fingers through the woman’s hair. “I am sure you wonder which goddess I am.”

The woman hums, her throat making a sweet buzz against Aphrodite’s breast. “Perhaps. Only so I may call your name again.” She runs a finger down the goddess’ arm, from shoulder to wrist, then lingering there. “But I have my wits about me.”

Aphrodite smiles. “Oh? And who might you seek me as?”

The woman takes Aphrodite’s hand, now. “I shall love you no matter who you may be, Aphrodite.”

It is not the last time they meet, nor the last time they lay together. They dabble in fields, laugh over wine, and speak to one another late in the night. As it would occur, the woman is a poet, a good one at that, and writes hymns for Aphrodite in her lustrous love for the goddess.

The woman holds such court in Aphrodite’s heart for so many years, that Aphrodite soon fears, actually fears, her death. She laments the fact that the woman is mortal, and will die. The woman does not.

“I have lived a lifetime dappled with you. I do not weep for it, such a blessing.”

But Aphrodite still feels the knowledge gnaw at her. She knows she cannot make a god of the woman, but she may be able to place her judgement in the realm of the dead.

Decades pass, still enjoying one another. The woman ages, and she does not. But they still find each other in the darkness, in the light.

One day, decades and decades later, the woman dies. A peaceful death, a life prolonged by the proximity and life of a goddess. It would have surprised her to know she did not die of a tragedy, like all other lovers of gods. Perhaps that is why she is left out in history.

Aphrodite weeps for her, as she did Adonis, and select other lovers that were as golden to her as her own divinity. She carves a tomb, in memorial, that over time crumbles and breaks. She carves her name into it, but in centuries, it will be lost.

Her battle is not over. She composed herself, and urges her way to a field, near a crack to Erebos.

It is springtime. She may call for her.

“Persephone.”

At the invocation of her name, Persephone comes to the call.

“Aphrodite.” She greets, a mix of warmth and ice.

Aphrodite pauses, the request tingling on her lips. “You may not care, but we have had our moments, dear Persephone.”

They could not be called friends, no. But they could not be denied of the ways of the flesh they had once- twice, perhaps, shared.

She continues at the silence. “I come to request a placement for a soul.”

Persephone raises a brow. “I see.”

“She is virtuous, and a good woman, besides. I believe you should place her in Elysium.”

Persephone narrows her eyes. “Give me her name. I may see what I can do.”

Aphrodite gives it. Persephone returns a blank look. Then it shifts to an amusement.

“She has found her eternal rest, I confess.”

Aphrodite frowns. “I know. That is the reason for my request.”

“You misunderstand.” Persephone laughs. “She had drank from the river Lethe twice over. She has lived three virtuous lives, with this one her third.”

Aphrodite’s eyes widen.

“She resides on the Isle of the Blessed?”

Persephone nods, smiling still. Aphrodite does not know why.

But her heart leaps. There is that, she thinks. She has lived three virtuous lives.

Then a thought crosses her mind. “What made her virtuous, in this one?”

Persephone smiles. “She will write a history, in years to come. Perhaps all because of one lover she had in particular.”

#as I wrote this I realized this could be inferred #as a story of Sappho #but Sappho was real so that’s up to you #greek mythology #greek myth #mythology #author #aphrodite #sapphic #modern mythology #non-canonical myth #lesbian lovers #I am gay and I needed a lesbian myth #aphrodisiac #aphrodite x female lover #aphrodite x mortal woman #aphrodite and her lover

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hawktims · 11 months

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modern mythical creatures | vampires | 2023 remake (original)

A vampire is a mythical being who subsists by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures. In folkloric tales, undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive.

#mythologyedit #mythedit #vampedit #mythology #vampire edit #vampcore #modern mythology #modern vampire #vampire aesthetic #mythical creatures #myth #mine #my edit #mmc*#blood #cw: blood #yes i sneaked jungkook in there bcs i wanted to #m: myth

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distracteddaintydemon · 6 months

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Nimona is a child god

an indomitable child who needs to be loved even at the cost of hating herself but also needs to survive as herself even at the cost of being hated

but a child who can keep it going for a millennium without surrendering, without burying self, without going numb, still FEELING, still yearning, has clearly a willpower worthy of a god

so when the child part finally gets to be loved as herself? yeah, try to take down someone who survived this. Any adversity gets redirected straight to the deity part. Try and nuke the god. Good luck

#nimona #nimona netflix #jungian psychology #child psychology #nimona is a child-god #modern mythology

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theneedyseaflea · 11 months

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From Modern Mythology: Poems About Gods, Mortals, and Monsters by Nadia McGhee

#Persephone #hades #Demeter #modern mythology #Nadia McGhee #mythology #myth #gods #goddess #greek mythology #poem #poetry #feminist #book

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cursedcola · 3 months

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Hello everyone!

I’m currently working on a project for creative literature, and I’d like to post a question to fuel some ideas.

If the current world had gods (think mythology), what gods would exist in this modern reality? I am trying to think of ideas that our predecessors wouldn’t have thought of.

For example: I think we would have a God of Technology or Machinery. This wasn’t thought of back in the day when mythology was written (I believe the closest existing gods would be Hephaestus from Greek Mythology)

Anywho - if you have an idea for a god that would exist in modern life please leave a comment. Thanks!

#greek mythology #norse mythology #mythology and folklore #hindu mythology #modern mythology #creative writing #literature #research #all ideas are appreciated!

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talefoundryshow · 6 months

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“Why?” is a question as old as humanity, and stories to help explain the “why”s behind seemingly unexplainable phenomena have existed for just as long. If you know where to look, the echoes of mythical etiology are still with us today.

#tale foundry #writing community #writing inspiration #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #modern mythology #mythological #mythologies #mythology #ancient myths #myths #urban legends #urban myths #cautionary tale

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fakerobotrealblog · 4 months

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"Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series by Rick Riordan has had a significant impact on popular culture, particularly in its portrayal of Greek mythology. Here's an in-depth analysis of the series and its influence:

### Portrayal of Greek Mythology:

1. **Modern Relevance:**

- Riordan modernizes Greek mythology, making it accessible to contemporary audiences, particularly young readers. The integration of ancient myths into a modern setting adds relevance and relatability.

2. **Relatable Characters:**

- Percy Jackson, the protagonist, and other characters are relatable teenagers dealing with typical adolescent issues. This relatability humanizes the mythical world, making it more accessible to readers.

3. **Reimagined Deities:**

- The series presents the gods and goddesses in a more approachable light, showcasing their flaws and quirks. This portrayal humanizes the deities, moving beyond traditional, distant representations found in classical mythology.

4. **Demystifying Mythical Creatures:**

- Mythical creatures like satyrs, centaurs, and monsters are depicted in a more friendly or neutral manner, challenging traditional perceptions. This approach encourages a more nuanced understanding of mythical beings.

5. **Incorporation of Real Locations:**

- Riordan integrates real-world locations with mythical elements, grounding the fantastical elements in reality. This fusion adds an immersive layer to the storytelling, allowing readers to visualize the mythic world in familiar settings.

6. **Education through Entertainment:**

- The series educates readers about Greek mythology organically. Through the characters' adventures, readers learn about myths, gods, and monsters without feeling like they are in a traditional classroom setting.

### Impact on Popular Culture:

1. **Expanding Mythological Interest:**

- "Percy Jackson" has played a pivotal role in increasing interest in Greek mythology among young readers. It serves as a gateway, sparking curiosity about classical stories and inspiring further exploration.

2. **Diversity and Inclusivity:**

- The series introduces a diverse cast of characters, reflecting a broader range of backgrounds and experiences. This inclusivity contributes to the series' widespread appeal and resonance with a diverse readership.

3. **Influence on Young Adult Literature:**

- The success of the series has influenced the landscape of young adult literature, paving the way for other authors to explore mythology and folklore in inventive ways. Riordan's approach has become a model for blending education with entertainment in literature.

4. **Adaptations and Multimedia Impact:**

- The film adaptation, though not universally praised, increased the series' visibility. Additionally, the announcement of a Disney+ adaptation presents an opportunity to reintroduce and expand the impact of Percy Jackson on a new generation.

5. **Fan Engagement and Community:**

- Percy Jackson has a dedicated fanbase that actively engages in discussions, fan fiction, and fan art. This sense of community has contributed to the enduring popularity of the series and its impact on online spaces.

In conclusion, "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" has left a lasting impact on popular culture by reimagining Greek mythology in a modern context and making it accessible to a broad audience. The series' influence extends beyond literature, shaping the way mythology is portrayed and embraced in various forms of media and cultural discourse.

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo series #pjo tv show #greek mythology #modern mythology #chatgpt #ya fantasy #ya fiction

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caesariscsr · 4 months

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ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤmodern mythology headcanons: hades

...impeccable manners; huge home library; pedantry; ironed black shirts; extremely specific sense of humor; film noir; Samori painting; nervous tapping of fingers on the countertop; distances in any relationship; black and white photographs; farsightedness; fountain pens; firmness in decision-making; superstition; does not understand the word "no"; craving for privacy; icy hands; conservatism; almost boundless patience; a collection of edged weapons.

#my edit #modern au #modern mythology #hades aesthetic #modern mythology headcanons #2020

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mystieris · 28 days

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My designs for the big three, along with their gifts (and Hades' bident xD). I opted for giving Zeus' thunderbolts a sort of... plasma ball design cause I have never been good at drawing the "cartoony" lightning bolt shape, and I figured this would most easily avoid making it accidentally resemble the Master Bolt from Percy Jackson. Design pages of other characters to come.

#greek gods #greek mythology #digital art #modern mythology #clip studio paint #artists on tumblr #hades #zeus #poseidon #these idiots #character sheet #character design

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roses--and--rue · 1 year

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Forget about “Slut Era.” I am sliding snakes-first into my Gorgon Era.

#medusa #gorgon #antiques #vintage #modern mythology #monsters

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abominable-space-they · 1 year

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I think alot about Will Graham & The Moon, Artemis really.

Artemis was the Greek goddess of the moon, & the hunt, birth, accidental death... But especially the hunt. Her sacred animal was the stag, she was often pictured with whole packs of hunting hounds. She was an excellent marksman. She rescued young girls sometimes, was close to the Amazons.

She fell in love with Orion, the greatest mortal hunter of his generation, in many variations of the stories they stayed in the wild places hunting monsters together for a very long time.

Apollo was jealous of Orion & sent a giant scorpion to kill him, Artemis arrived to late to save him so she threw him into the sky, made him a constellation, eternal in the heavens.

Or maybe it was Callisto, her priestess, whom she turned into a bear either to protect her from further violations from Zeus, or to punish her for being fooled by him posing as Artemis to seduce her.

Artemis had a furious temper and would kill mortals for invading her privacy, for disrespecting her, or that which she considered hers.

The full moon is part of Will's Mo

Apollo was the God of the sun, music, art, seers, the lyre, civilized city living, birds generally but most specifically, the raven was his representative animal. He was the other half of Artemis in the literal mythological sense.

One of my favorite parts of the way Hannibal the show is structured, is the fairy tale aspect of it, the story built for us and the FBI always has a feeling of unreality, deja vu, or uncanny valley.

We serve as proxy for the FBI, the rules of the show follow the rules of Will's design, his great and beautiful 5 year plan

It's intentionally difficult to know what's real and what isn't, both in universe and in the show itself. Maybe all of it's real, maybe none of it is.

The best trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

But that's a different post

In the beginning of the story and our role as witness in this Greek tragedy/fairy tale they've built us, Hannibal seems almost deified, to powerful to be real, to good or to bad to be true, to powerful to be simply human.

Then we find out, that he was literally to good or bad to be entirely true, that the FBI mythologized the monster rather then see the truth right in front of them. The Chesapeake Ripper had someone on the inside, he had Will Graham... and he'd had Will Graham for a very long time.

Hannibal was never smoke, he was never the devil incarnate, Will just made sure no relevant evidence ever saw the light of day.

Together though, together they were something more then the sum of their pieces, and they both knew it, something powerful, something strong, something to good or bad to be true. They were the push-pull of the sun and the moon on the tides. They were smoke... or the devil himself.

So Will was the man behind the curtain, but then we begin to wonder how does Will make all this happen? How does he get all these completely unlikely and detail oriented results? The five year fake their death plan has so many moving parts, yet things always go their way in the end. How? That is god tier manipulation.

We let it slide, not questioning it to hard because of that unreality energy, and so does the FBI in universe.

Who knows, we're just glad to be here. Maybe Hannigram just wish it into existence, maybe they will it into existence... Will it. 😈

After all it's supposed to leave you wondering, and it's effective, I do wonder...

So many possible answers. But I can't let go of that god tier manipulation. You know what would be fantastic? What would be a perfect end cap to the starting supposition that Hannibal was like unto a god? What would be such a perfect narrative flip that it would be kinda funny? Funny in the autistic, we're just over here subverting expectations kind of way...

If Hannibal was being literal when he called Will his personal God in defiance of Society.

If Will was not just fixated on the concept of Artemis, but was literally Artemis, deity of the hunt. That would make Hannibal's jokes about christian churches collapsing a little different wouldn't it? All the conversations about prayers and beliefs would read just a bit more important.

Wouldn't that just be grand? Wouldn't it explain so much? If Will was literally Hannibal's God of the hunt? If all their convoluted plans worked out simply bc Will wished it to be so, and Hannibal's faith was strong enough. Strong enough to make the two of them nearly invincible & inscrutable with their combined power. Will, love, imagination, and devotion... Power

The idea was so fun for me I accidentally wrote a dark fairytale/ghost origin story about it. Oops?

You can see this weird and wonderful story baby of mine here if you'd like:

Artemis Will is beautiful, dangerous, & furious

#my mastermind will graham agenda analysis #will graham and Artemis #greek mythology parallels in hannibal #hannibal #will graham #hannigram #hannibal lecter #hannibal x will #hannibal fandom #canon dark will #trans allegory #trans allegory in Hannibal #modern mythology #artemis

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thehat-taheht · 5 months

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Boxers of Yesterday Today and Tomorrow

Storytelling in Sports

A normal person otherwise devoid of any specific purpose finds their raison dêtre in training for the martial arts.

This single sentence storyline is a fundamental story type in many Asian stories. You find it in Chinese Shaolin Temple epics, Japanese and Chinese rival school epics, Thai action films, Spanish and French sword-fighting fictions, and even American dramas and comedies. Rocky is the most notable example of an American version of this story type. In every example, the storytelling rarely focuses on the action and instead puts the onus on the relationships the character has with the world.

The most notable Japanese examples are Samurai films and combat/sports manga. In most of these examples the protagonist is relatively normal, allowing the audience to relate to them. Then the narrative introduces a reason for the character to evolve during exposition. The main character then is introduced to a mentor, not unlike Joseph Cambell’s example path of the Hero’s Journey. In sports narratives this mentor is usually in the form of a coach or trainer and they are uplifted from normal person to a superior athlete.

In sports manga and other sports fiction, the answer to all problems is always the same: Training.

Discipline provides confidence and training provides strength. Both of these are held together with ‘guts’ or determination. The athletic hero is confronted with stronger and stronger opponents and continues to train until he can defeat them. This type of ‘superiority through training and determination’ is a cornerstone of most Japanese stories. Many deal with an argument between skill and talent as well. In most cases learned skill defeats natural-born talent after enough training has occurred.

The lessons taught in these stories are almost always the same:

Nothing good is achieved without effort

Trust your friends and family

Strength is the product of discipline

Determination will give you victory

In this essay I will be focusing on three Boxing stories from Japanese culture. We will explore their meanings and narratives, the lessons taught, and the importance of their stories on culture.

Joe Learns to Box: Yesterday’s Tomorrow

Pugilism has a long history of nobility and violence. Boxing is enjoyed the world over as the world’s most basic of martial arts. Everyone can do it, but few can master it. Despite the sport’s organization being mostly from a European base, the United States has become the de facto home of the sport. It spread across the world and entered Japan in 1854 and became popular despite Japan’s dominance in the martial arts world.

Post World War II anti-American sentiment led to a lull in the sport, but boxing matches continued. As Japanese classical art like Emakimono evolved into Manga, artists struggled for meaning in a post nuclear world. One particular author found this meaning in the story of a prize fighter from the slums of Tokyo. Asao Takamori under the pen name Ikki Kajiwara teamed up with the artist Tetsuya Chiba to create their seminal work, Ashita no Joe. The story captured the spirit of Japanese determination and also their desperation in the face of their defeat of WW II and the subsequent reconstruction period. Joe’s redemption and anger belonged to the youth of the day and inspired other authors, artists, and aspiring boxers to try their best to grow and learn what it means to be strong.

Using this story as a lens to view other anime and manga you can see its influence everywhere you look, from popular to obscure. Notably Takamori’s story inspired a renaissance of boxing fandom in the late 1970’s. Despite there being several titles going to Featherweight and Welterweight champions in Japan during the time, boxing was relatively unpopular due to its association with the US. Ashita no Joe, or “Tomorrow’s Joe” captured a moment and helped to move its fans forwards toward a brighter tomorrow.

The titular character Joe Yabuki, is a tough-as-nails drifter that wanders into a shantytown and runs into an alcoholic boxing trainer, who sees a bright future hiding inside the brash youth and attempts to coax it out of him. Because of his terrible attitude and criminal behavior he is instead put in jail. Joe redeems himself (somewhat at least) and pushes himself to become a professional boxer. His story can be seen as a successful transition from an economic outcast into a functional member of society. In this case, society can be said to be the true villain of the story. Joe has either rejected society or society has rejected him, he has either turned to violence or been rejected due to his reliance on violence to solve his problems. Similar story origins can be found in gangster movies but also in stories like Rambo: Firstblood.

Classic and contemporary gangster films have characters that as children are shown a violent way of life, either by design or necessity. These children then grow into violent adults, full of anger and contempt for society and view the world as a thing to be possessed or conquered. Society ultimately rejects them for their violent and destructive natures. Stories like Rambo on the other hand, have a well liked child grow into a life of violence for a noble cause, but are ultimately unable to separate this violence from their personality. They eventually reject society as they cannot find a place and the violence in them serves no purpose.

Yabuki is a bit of a mystery as we have no context to put him in, but as with both other character types, his violence serves no purpose. He is defined by his violence and it colors all of his actions towards others. Joe is a fundamentally unlikable character, full of anger, bitterness, and child-like pettiness. His relationship with those that eventually come to care about him serves to instill societal norms in him in an attempt to turn him into a better person.

Instead of society itself, I propose that poverty is the real enemy of Joe and his friends. Every day is a struggle for all of them in San’ya. Economic disparity is on parade throughout the narrative, from the driftwood houses along the Namida Bashi (Bridge of Tears) to the sky scrapers and mansions of the mega-wealthy. Joe is carted around the world boxing in various countries, but he never really grows out of the slums in his mind. Joe is obviously a victim of his own stubbornness, but he was made that way because of lack of economic opportunity. This is one of the primary stumbling blocks on display in gangster stories, but instead of becoming an enforcer and earning a living in the underworld, Joe becomes a homeless wanderer, evoking the Japanese concept of a Ronin. A skilled fighter, disgraced and masterless but clinging on to his own moral code as he wanders from town to town.

While Joe is a product of his time, his story is no less poignant for modern audiences. I enjoy Ashita no Joe for a variety of reasons, but one of the best is its lack of focus on form. Chiba’s art is almost romantic with emphasis on Joe’s inability to care about the world, and Takamori’s rambling narrative is like a daydream at times with no obvious focus or form. If I had to compare it to music, Joe’s story is like a free form jazz with some repeating phrases and a theme, but mostly feels disorganized and yet is familiar. Joe has emblazoned himself into the minds and hearts of Japanese artists and athletes for decades and will continue to guide hearts, minds, and fists for decades to come.

Ippo Steps into the Ring: Yesterday’s Today

In sharp contrast to the unlikable character study of Joe Yabuki, we now come to possibly the most likable character in all of Japanese sports manga. Makunouchi Ippo, the titular character of Hajime no Ippo, has a boundless optimism that is almost never extinguished and his ability to win through sheer will power is incredibly inspirational. When I meet people that do not watch any anime or read manga and they ask me what to start with, Ippo’s story is always close to the top of the list. Of the three stories explored in this work, Ippo is my favorite. I have watched Ippo's road to fight against Date Eji more times that I can remember.

As with Joe, Ippo is a product of his environment and time. He is an example of modern boxing theory and technique tempered with lessons from the past. The origins of boxing are represented by the retired boxers in the narrative and the techniques of famous modern era boxers are on display in this love letter to obscure boxing styles. Ippo is the son of a fishing boat captain whose good naturedness causes him to forgo friendships and childhood distractions to help his mother operate the fishing boat business that supports them after his father's death. He is bullied and taunted until a chance encounter with a professional boxer saves him from a group of wannabe hoodlums underneath a bridge. Ippo awakens to find himself in the world of boxing and puts all of his considerable determination into making himself a professional licensed boxer. He manages this and continues to help his mother without complaining or losing his intoxicating optimism.

Makunouchi is meant to be a representation of the perfect son in Japanese culture. He is mannered, self-effacing, and always does the right thing. Conceptually, Ippo is almost as far as possible from Joe as a character. The world that Ippo exists in is also just as opposed to Joe’s world. While economics do factor into the narrative a bit, it is not a focus of the story. In this world the common everyday experience of Japan’s average citizen is on display. The manga is in full swing with shonen style comedy and slice of life stories, Ippo’s life is beset with heartache, rivals, highschool life, and bad dating advice.

The thing that really sets Ippo apart is the illustration of effort and power in the art of the near constant boxing and sparring matches. Although the art is a bit dated, it still communicates emotion and drama in a way that no other sports show has ever done in my opinion. Some of the later fights continue to give me chills and despite knowing the outcome of every fight, I still find myself cheering on Ippo. The color palette for everyday life is somewhat subdued but still contains a range of colors, but the fights are incredibly bright with flashes and huge blast lines. Usually this style of art would be a turn off for me in other mediums, but somehow Hajime no Ippo gets away with it.

If Joe’s story is Jazz, then Ippo is a Rock Ballad. Guitars scream at times, but other times the story is whimsical or romantic. George Morikawa’s skillful blend of emotions bring you through a chord progression of inspiring notes building to larger than life crescendos, that crash down upon you in a hail of pummeling fists, and knock you out with the power solos that are the crowd pumping championship matches. The drama conveyed in Takamura’s face while he attempts to control himself from opening a refrigerator while dieting to make weight, and the joyful head nod that Ippo gives when he defeats the first villain of the show are highlights that play on an loop in my mind drenched in squealing guitar riffs and the roar of the crowd.

One of the craziest things about watching the show for me is the effect it has on my exercise habits. If I ever want to get motivated to work out, I put on the first season of Ippo. Just as Ashita no Joe’s world is meant to capture the desperation of the downtrodden and the realism of his world, Hajime no Ippo seems to look at the world through Ippo’s guileless naivete. Ippo’s world is both very realistic and simultaneously extremely exaggerated. This offputting juxtaposition is difficult to navigate at times when you are wondering what is real and what is imagination.

Junkyard Dog Bites Mankind: Today’s Tomorrow

When writing about the future one of the things you have to ask yourself is ‘what will X be like in the future?’ Yō Moriyama, Katsuhiko Manabe, and Kensaku Kojima asked themselves, what would boxing be like in the future? How would people fight in the age of machines and artificial intelligence? Gearless Joe is the answer, or rather the inverse of the answer as he is essentially an anti-hero forgoing the future methods of robotic-assisted carnage, for old fashioned human-powered beatdowns.

If Hajime no Ippo is Classic Rock and Ashita no Joe is Jazz, then Megalobox is Industrial HipHop. It is hard, but rhythmic, artistic and catchy. By far the most polished of the 3 examples, it is an extremely fun watch and is effectively a stylized re-telling of Ashita no Joe. The nameless protagonist chooses the moniker ‘Joe’ meaning a man with no real name, but also an obligatory hat-tip to the source material that inspired them. Originally self-named ‘Junk Dog’ is employed to fight in fixed matches in the underworld that our original Joe eschewed. He feels trapped by his life and while attempting to force change, ends up essentially trapping himself even worse. Through a twist of fate, he is forced into the world of professional legitimate boxing in which if he loses he will die. In this brutal and vicious dog-eat-dog world, Gearless Joe shines as a likable anti-hero.

Unlike Ashita no Joe, society is not the big bad guy. There are of course real bad guys in Megalobox in the form of gangsters and fixers and hustlers, but the true villain in the story is greed. The story paints a nasty picture of corruption in the slums and then opens up the world into the bright lights of the legitimate world. With every turn you see another sign of economic elitism, not the least of which is Joe’s lack of personal identity. He is a non-person in the society and cannot even be allowed into the city, there is of course a blackmarket answer for everything and Gearless is allowed to come into the futuristic world of the Megalonia tournament and fight for his life.

His trainer sets up their gym under a bridge bearing more than a passing likeness to the same Bridge of Tears from Ashita no Joe. His team and Gearless Joe are the only desperate ones in the narrative, so unlike the feeling of inclusivity that Yabuki’s gang felt, Gearless Joe feels isolated.

An Abridged Story of A Bridge: Tears to Cheers to Fears

Dieting and sweat, training and bruises, bright lights and cheering crowds. There are a lot of things that the stories share due to the sheer concept of boxing, but one thing that stands out the most to me about the similarities is the geography. Ashita no Joe and Hajime no Ippo canonically occur in Tokyo whereas Megalobox occurs in the fictional ‘Administrative Zone’, but a common point with all stories is their reliance on a single feature of the landscape, a bridge. The bridge in Ashita no Joe is a famous one called Namida Bashi or the Bridge of Tears. It got this name due to the requirement that future prisoners of Kozukahara penitentiary would have to say their goodbyes to their loved ones on that bridge as you had to cross the Omoigawa river to get to the prison. The river was moved and the bridge doesn’t exist anymore, but in its time it was a symbol of loss and heartache and of loss of agency. It was no small symbolism for Joe’s trainer Danpei to open his ramshackle gym under the bridge. Joe’s relatively brief stint in prison and their constant struggle for survival, coupled with Joe’s incessant need to cause trouble always lead to loss, heartache, and usually a loss of agency. Many of Ashita no Joe’s most important moments occur in and around the bridge, borrowing context from the bridge’s reputation. Each of these events is usually a precursor to a major event in the context of Joe Yabuki.

Even though the bridge is now gone, the area around the bridge’s location is close to the Tiato and Arakawa districts that have several rivers that run through them with modern bridges that look remarkably like the one that serves as a setting for many of the critical plot turns in Hajime no Ippo. We see the entire storyline of Ippo’s relationship with Umezawa (Ippo’s school bully that is turned into his greatest fan) unfold under and around the bridge. Ippo manages to catch the 10 leaves that teach him how to jab next to the bridge, and several key conversations and character introductions are in and around the canal next to the bridge. I don’t feel that this use of the canal next to this particular bridge is random and suspect that if it isn’t just an icon from the author’s youth, it is an homage to Ashita no Joe’s use of the Bridge of Tears.

Ippo’s story doesn’t revolve around the same themes, so the bridge being similar but different is important in my mind. Being under the bridge, where Joe and Danpei were, is when Ippo is at his weakest and most vulnerable. The wise tree nearby becomes his first teacher and Ippo learns that he can grow stronger through dedication and training. This causes the bridge to become a symbol for growth and hope for a better tomorrow for Ippo. Even Umezawa crosses the bridge on his way to become a better person. Like Ippo is the inverse of Joe, the bridge in Hajime no Ippo is the inverse of the Namida Bashi. Everytime a character crosses the bridge they are stronger than they were before.

Megalobox as a revamp of Ashita no Joe also has a bridge, and of course they have their ‘gym’ underneath it. The symbolism in Megalobox is missing however and the bridge takes on a different meaning. Joe Yabuki and his trainer Danpei are poor in a community of poor people and they have a community to help them make their gym a home. Gearless Joe and Gansaku Nanbu have no such community to help them and must toil essentially on their own. The bridge and the river are essentially signs of the reality of illegal squatting, evidence that they do not belong in the world they find themselves in. As Gearless Joe and Nanbu rock the boat in entirely different ways than Joe Yabuki, death at the hands of the corruption of the city is their motivating factor instead of prison and poverty. The bridge over their heads instead becomes a symbol of cover, of hiding in plain sight. Not unlike the nameless boxer’s decision to choose the anonymous name of ‘Joe’.

To my reckoning there are a lot of examples of symbolism in all three stories, but none are shared so visibly and with as great an impact as the bridges over the heads of heroes while they train and live life outside the ring. Plans are formed, strategies devised, and history is made under these bridges, while clueless people stroll above them not knowing what extreme determination and strength of will lies beneath.

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