Records of Ragnorak

For this weeks listening/watching, I once again dove into the world of Anime: this time watching the Netflix Original Series Records of Ragnarok.  The show, similar to Mashle, draws on my interests of when I was a child- though this time it pertained the world of Mythology rather than the world of magic. The show follows the story of Brunhilde- a Valkyrie of Norse Mythology as she enacts Ragnarok, a best of 13 battles between the Gods and Humanity in a last minute attempt to saves humanity from extinction at the whims of the god.

                                                                

The show itself was fun and interesting with an introduction to a number of historical figures I was unfamiliar with before watching the show, like that of Sasaki Kojiro the Japanese swordsman, and Raiden Tameemon, the Foremost Japanese sumo wrestler, among other historical figures like Jack the Ripper* and Nikola Tesla.

                                                                   

The show introduces not only new figures of humanity I was unfamiliar with but also various gods and deities. These include the usual Greek figures of Zeus and Ares as well as Odin and Loki from the Norse legends. 

One of the interesting aspects of the show I found was the variation in historical recollection- with the God Poseidon having killed his brother Hajun (who seemingly is based on Hades) or even the alterations made to children's nursery rhymes as shown by Jack the Ripper's London Bridge is Falling Down. Most of the shows I consume either stay pretty true to the established mythology or develop their own characters completely unrelated to existing universe.

I will say however this show is pretty violent all in all, as one would expect with a show depicting 13 battles to the death with the fate of humanity on the line. While it is interesting to see the different warriors from across humanity(or at least the strongest* individuals throughout) I would not recommend watching the show if you are looking for a fun slice of life show.                                                                   

Due to the newer nature of the program, as well as the battle heavy nature of the program, I was unable to utilize my knowledge of Japanese and Japanese culture to predict the themes and plots of the episodes before they came to be. Despite this I did learn about the various styles of garb warn throughout the different eras of Japan, along with more minute changes like that of hairstyles and identities as warriors.

The show was fun and a new spin on the traditional meaning of Ragnarok in Norse Mythology, typically referred to as the death of the universe/the gods themselves.