The year after the Japanese invaded Manchuria, Aoji and Murata -- whose most interesting work, I feel, was the series of cartoon about Momotaro -- began this series of cartoons about a dog in the army. In this episode of the series, the dog thwarts the Monkey Army.
How much of this is standard cutesy animal cartooning, and how much of this is symbolism for the invasion of Manchuria? Cartoons, intended for children, are very symbol oriented; so are fantasies. And while it is a ridiculous stretch for the modern anime fan to look upon this -- or indeed, any fantasy work -- as a direct defense of invasion, we can see a lot of propaganda in American cartoons at the height of the Second World War -- not just works like Der Fuehrer's Face, which states its case overtly, but in the general statement that art reflects life. So was this series a matter of Aoji and Murata noticing there was a war on and thinking that a dog in the army would be a cute idea for a series? And what abut those bourgeois pigs?
How much of this is standard cutesy animal cartooning, and how much of this is symbolism for the invasion of Manchuria? Cartoons, intended for children, are very symbol oriented; so are fantasies. And while it is a ridiculous stretch for the modern anime fan to look upon this -- or indeed, any fantasy work -- as a direct defense of invasion, we can see a lot of propaganda in American cartoons at the height of the Second World War -- not just works like Der Fuehrer's Face, which states its case overtly, but in the general statement that art reflects life. So was this series a matter of Aoji and Murata noticing there was a war on and thinking that a dog in the army would be a cute idea for a series? And what abut those bourgeois pigs?
