Himitsu ~The Siscon and BL Revelations~

May 1st, 2008 usagijen

Despite not living up to Shimizu Reiko’s artwork, the anime is still great.

I can only blame the Spring anime bonanza for the lack of attention Himitsu is getting from both fansubbers and bloggers alike. Seriously, if thought-provoking shows with mystery and drama elements are your cup of tea, Himitsu is something you should not let pass. Wabi Sabi of Iwa ni Hana has already said much about the beauty of Shimizu Reiko’s works, and Himitsu is no exception to that. Oh and please, don’t let that silly ’siscon’ and ‘BL’ I placed in the title scare you away, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what this show has to offer. And no I’m not trying to emphasize that you’ll find more siscon and BL stuff here, this show is way deeper than that. It deals with these taboo loves as real moral issues (as was shown in episodes 2-3).

In a nutshell, Himitsu is what I’d call a more emotionally-riveting, sci-fi CSI, with a similar crime-solving premise in each episode segment. Here, we also have a forensic investigation unit, who, in addition to examining physical forensic evidences, has the capability to view the victim’s memories with the power of MRI (Memory Reproduction Imaging). Now you might think the investigators have it all too easy because they are able to pry through the victims’ minds, but it’s not that simple. First of all, the MRI is not perfect; with its limitation of providing only the image representation of the victim’s memory, the investigators would still have to rely on their own senses to map this imagery with the actual thoughts of the victim. And as we all know, the human mind is extremely complicated, especially with the presence of emotions which makes it an ever volatile subject, adding yet another level of complexity to all this.

Inside the mind of a siscon.

The majority of bloggers seem to concur that this show is similar to the Hollywood sci-fi flick Minority Report, but I’m going to play the devil’s advocate here and pinpoint the major difference between these two. While MR and Himitsu both share the premise of sci-fi crime-solving, especially the investigation process with the use of imagery, they differ in terms of theme and focus. Minority Report revolved around the theme of free will vs. determinism, where much of the spotlight was given to the criminal (or soon-to-be criminal). Himitsu, on the other hand, puts the victims into the limelight, as we get to see what’s inside their minds — their struggles, conflicting emotions, and ultimately, their secrets, as hinted by the title itself. Neither the criminal nor the crime per se is the highlight of Himitsu; but rather, the emotions at play.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. This is GxB btw.

Surprisingly (or not), no one has made comparisons between Himitsu and the movie The Final Cut, which I believe bears quite a similarity with Himitsu. In the world of Final Cut, advancement in technology has also made extraction of memories possible, but it’s through these artificial “Zoe” implants which only the wealthy ones can afford. With these implants placed in children at birth, their memories are recorded, which can be edited later on after their death, to retain only the good ones. Both The Final Cut and Himitsu focus on people’s secrets, though in the former one, these memories are portrayed to be manipulable, while the latter regards memories as read-only entities which no one can ever alter. In Himitsu, it is shown that everything we think and do becomes a permanent part of our being, including of course, the deepest dark secrets we have. While The Final Cut dealt with the moral implications of being able to manipulate people’s memories, Himitsu dealt with the issue of prying into the minds of people, whether it’s right for the investigators to find out the very secrets of the victims. Himitsu, in this sense, proves to be realistic despite being a sci-fi anime.

Oh the struggle of wanting to rid ourselves of forbidden thoughts and feelings.

With the past four episodes, I found myself glued to my seat the entire time — gaze affixed on the show, immersed in the world of Himitsu — as though I was one with the investigators in their journey inside the minds of the victims. Now that I think about it, we, as audience, are actually in the same shoes as these investigators who witness the wonders of the MRI, as we get to see not only the innermost thoughts of the victims, but also the thoughts of the other characters in the show (we’ve seen much of Aoki, and I believe we’ll see more of the Director later on). In the same way the characters use their senses do deduce the thoughts of the victims, questioning their conscience and moral sense in the process, I found myself doing the same thing – asking the very questions these characters are asking. It’s that compelling and thought-provoking.

This is one of the rare few DEAD SERIOUS shows I’ve watched which make me end up feeling good afterwards, as I am filled with a renewed sense of morality and humanity with each episode. What’s great about Himitsu is that despite the moral issues it tackles, it doesn’t dictate what people should do, nor does it vindicate the sins of people or our society as a whole. It allows you to reflect on the moral issues presented, all for the sake of shaping up our character for the better

P.S. Those who diss this show for looking gay are gay. T__T

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Entry Filed under: Himitsu ~The Revelation~