bedes | Entries tagged with fandom:milgram

You know what they say about three times making a pattern. So, if every trial 3 song is going to close with addressing/referencing another character, here are my predictions for who shows up in whose MV:

Kazui: assuming that the addressees are limited to other prisoners, Shidou — but if not, I could see him addressing his wife or the man he was interested in

Amane: Shidou and/or Fuuta — if Kazui's ends up being Shidou, then most certainly Fuuta

Mikoto: John

Kotoko: Es, Jackalope, and/or the audience — most likely Es

Current Mood: speculative

I am extremely cross with the MILGRAM translation team for translating "可哀想" (kawaisou) as "baby", when Muu refers to Haruka. "Kawaisou" is a word that means someone who is pitiful. You use it in order to express sympathy with someone who is in a sad situation. It does not imply age.

"Poor boy" would be a much more accurate translation. And it doesn't have the unfortunate side-effect of infantilizing an intellectually disabled character, and implying motherly feelings on Muu's end that she pointedly does not harbor. (Haruka saw her as a mother, but Muu viewed Haruka as a friend.)

I will ALSO say, though, I 100% commend the English translation team for localizing that one line as, "I won’t stop hurting you, ‘cause I’m a mean girl."

They seemed to understand the weight the phrase "mean girl" holds with English-speakers. The blonde girl, the "rich bitch". These ideas, these stereotypes internalized as facts in English-speaking audiences due to misogynistic teenage fiction, have been held against Muu from the release of her very first MV.

This is the idea that they invoke as they humanize her, show her trauma, show her love for Haruka.

"You thought I was nothing but a mean girl. That’s why you chose to punish me, even when it came at the cost of someone else's life… So I will become the villain from the PG movies of your past. I'll flatten myself into someone so 2D like that, as long as you apologize to him."

It turns the mirror back on the audience, and shines a light the misogyny Muu has been facing from the very start. I've said it many times, and I will say it again: Muu Kusunoki, they could never make me hate you!!!

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: Pain - MILGRAM Muu (CV: Arisa Kori)

"Woaw I can’t believe that (XYZ thing that happened in the MVs) is 100% true, canon and real" So there’s thing funny thing called 'the whole concept of the MVs is that they are based off of how the prisoner feels, not facts'.

We know that the end report cards can lie, too. The thing that we can trust the most is what comes out of the prisoners' mouths, and even that comes with the caveat that they can lie, have their feelings/viewpoint manipulated by others, etc.

There is no reliable narrator in MILGRAM, and there is no 'canon' information about their crimes. At least, not yet.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Part of the reason why I find Fuuta singing in pre-war Japanese so interesting is because, up until now, he's always been a character focused on progress, thematically. An intense focus on the internet, technology in its many forms, and progressive views. Even spraypaint is associated with rebellion, punk, and the like.

But, of course, religion is associated with its opposite. Stagnation, or regression, perhaps. "Traditional values"... While we don't know much about Amaneism quite yet, we know that Amane's original cult stressed a refusal of modern medicine, and the values of purity/non-vulgarity.

So now, Fuuta is singing in such old Japanese that many Japanese viewers either borderline or outright do not understand him. From "progress" to "regress", from the future to the past.

I experienced an initial gut reaction of extreme negativity to what was revealed in "Life", but, after thinking it over, I don't think that it was warranted.

Yes, we were led to think that Yuno had an abortion, and that her story was about the residual guilt from that. But a miscarriage, even if accidental, can also cause a ton of trauma and guilt. There is a long, long history of pregnant people being blamed for their miscarriage, with reasoning varying from pseudo-scientific to religious in nature.

I also initially thought, "If she just had an accident which made her miscarry, then she shouldn't even be in Milgram!!" But, then I thought about that for, like, two seconds, and... well, the point of MILGRAM is that none of the prisoners should be there, isn't it? If we view the fetus as if it is a person for a moment, as Jackalope seems to, the only differentiating factor from other prisoners is that it was accidental. Which could be said for multiple other prisoners, too — especially the ones where they likely accidentally caused someone else's suicide: Fuuta, Mahiru and Kazui.

Yuno is still undoubtedly the most innocent prisoner there by a long shot (after all, it was a fetus, and not a person). But I think she isn't quite as out-of-place as I thought. The whole point is that it's cruel and unusual, and, even if Yuno did not make the choice to terminate her pregnancy, it is still extraordinarily common for those who experience miscarriages (especially in an accident) to feel guilt about what happened. And it's not as if the narrative of MILGRAM is saying that she's correct to feel guilty — her MV clearly portrays the accident as a traumatic event that she was a victim in.

Um idk how to end this post. Yuno is a complex character who has gone through a lot, and it is fine that she experiences trauma and shame due to her miscarriage, as that reflects the reality of countless real people who experienced the same thing. Her being portrayed as experiencing guilt is not the creators of MILGRAM saying that she is correct to feel guilt. Also innocent Yuno sweep.

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Life - MILGRAM Yuno (CV: Yuuka Aisaka)

Incredibly niche pet peeve but people who call Fuuta an incel are so annoying because they're blatantly ignoring multiple parts of Fuuta's characterization.

His whole Thing was that he harassed someone over art theft. Art. Theft. That is peak stupid internet leftist slapfighting. Fuuta is also very known to consistently talk about "knowing his rights", justice, etc. It's very clear that he's intended to be a take on 'leftists' who use their sense of morality as a reason to harass and bully others.

But no. He is a man and he *checks notes* plays video games. So he's the type of 'chronically online' that is a violent misogynist. Obviously.

TL:DR Fuuta would have his privileges listed in his bio and if you disagree then you do not understand what his character is about on a base level. And I'm not kidding

Current Mood: annoyed

Rating: M

Fandom: MILGRAM

Characters: Muu Kusunoki, Rei

Relationship: Muu Kusunoki/Rei

Words: 2,467

Content Warnings: Bullying, slut-shaming, cannibalistic urges

Tropes: AU - Cakeverse, Internalized Homophobia (Muu), Metaphor, Angst

Summary: Nobody would think she was cute if the word got out that Kusunoki Muu wanted to eat her classmate.

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Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/18924.html

Rating: M

Fandom: MILGRAM

Characters: Fuuta Kajiyama, Amane Momose

Relationships: Fuuta Kajiyama & Amane Momose

Words: 2,085

Content Warnings: Cults, unintentional manipulation, indoctrination, referenced self-harm and suicidal thoughts

Tropes: Themes of Religion, Cults, Indoctrination, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm (Fuuta Kajiyama), Implied/Referenced Suicidal Thoughts (Fuuta Kajiyama), Touch-Starved

Summary: Amane and Fuuta have a pleasant chat about religion, justice, and the odd injuries that Fuuta is trying to keep hidden.

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Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/15521.html

A lot of people in the MILGRAM fandom (especially English-speaking MILGRAM fandom) state that Haruka is autistic-coded, as if it's fact. Most recognize that Haruka is coded as disabled. (If you didn't recognize that, I hope this essay will help to explain why.) However, to state that he is coded as autistic specifically is incorrect. Haruka is coded as intellectually disabled.

Now, there are likely two things that contribute to this issue. One is the invisibility of intellectual disability as a whole, and another is the fact that a lot of this has to do with things that only someone who speaks Japanese would understand (such as complex vs non-complex words in Japanese).

In this essay, I plan to lay out what an intellectual disability is and how it differs from neurodivergencies such as autism or ADHD. After that, I want to discuss the way Haruka speaks and uses words, the symbolism in his MVs, and how this lends to him being coded as intellectually disabled. Finally, I want to discuss why this even matters at all. Because, in truth, viewing Haruka as autistic instead of intellectually disabled leaves the viewer misunderstanding his story in a huge way that seems far too common in English-speaking MILGRAM fandom. So, I hope you listen to what I have to say.

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