Who is the King?

Every generation is the same: people like to make fun of the quiet; nerdy and physically weak. These delicate souls often retreat to imaginary worlds filled with fantasy and adventure.

Eighty years ago in the United States, as the Second World War raged on, it might have been a young chap reading the first Superman DC comic next to his bedside lamp. In the late 1970’s, perhaps it was our parents enjoying the first Star Wars movie. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, originating from the East but having significant cultural impact in the West, we witness the rise of popular animations (almost exclusively abbrev. as anime) and cartoons with titles such as: ‘Dragon Ball’, ‘Naruto’, ‘Sailor Moon’, ‘One Piece’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and so on.

*This was my generation, so it is not without some fond nostalgia in recollecting these stories.*

We read and watch these stories even though we might laugh sheepishly or feel ‘childish’ in even admitting to do so. We are inexplicably drawn to the them; to the raw expression of archetypes – the king, the villain, the hardworking commoner and the fool, along with others.
Sometimes, because of repression or pure disdain, the more resentful and jealous parts of us can surface.
“Stop trying to be a hero” were the words an old acquaintance derided at me with scorn. Of course, it stung because at least a small part of it was true; the cold truth was merely articulated with aversion.

“Not that these others are wholly without blame, for even the worst projection is at least hung on a hook, perhaps a very small one, but still a hook offered by the other person”

– Carl Jung

However, it should be said that wanting to be a ‘hero’ shouldn’t be met with mockery. Ambition, and the drive to conquer is perhaps the most visceral impulse for men. And if you are one of the few that possess the rare quality to sacrifice for others, never, ever think that there is something wrong with your deepest self. You are lacking perhaps, but not inadequate.

No doubt you already know that it is a grave mistake to be dismissive of these children. Often brighter, but different – like all children are in their own way; but also that sometimes these worlds prove too comforting –suffocating their potential and preventing them from venturing out to leave their mark on the world.

What you perhaps don’t realise is that: many of these children and teenagers are searching for guidance; for a culture – a belief and ideal that not only appeals but makes sense to them. Where they found lacking from their peers and family, they perhaps find in stories of superheroes and adventurous explorers. As they grow older, these stories and their symbolic meaning lay deeply rooted within their psyche and value system. Only decades, perhaps even half-a-century, later might they make the link between their upbringing and their actions.

It is why, when working as a sales representative at a telecommunications company, I caught my colleague, an otherwise ‘mature’ man checking up on the latest chapter of ‘Naruto Shippuden’; why an elderly but steady painter our family contracted for the sale of our house would nostalgically look at my sports car and compare it to his Toyota Celica; why in the years following the release of ‘Haikyuu!!’ I stumbled upon an old acquaintance at weekly volleyball sessions hosted at my university gymnasium.

And it is why, one day a scene came back to my mind. One anchored somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind because of its latent significance; to surface once again when the world demands it of your soul.

猿飛アスマ: 木ノ葉の忍を 駒に例えるなら
ｼｶﾏﾙ…さしずめ お前は 桂馬だな｡
奈良 シカマル: じゃあ 先生は？
アスマ: ｵﾚは なんでもない｡ ただの…｡
シカマル: 犠牲駒ってか？
アスマ: なら 玉は誰か わかるか？
シカマル: 火影だろ？
アスマ: ｵﾚも この間までは そう思ってた｡
けど そうじゃなかった｡
シカマル: じゃあ 誰なんすか？
アスマ: お前も 時がくりゃ わかるさ

Asuma Sarutobi: If we thought of the shinobi in Konoha as pieces of shogi, then Shikamaru, you would probably be the Knight.
Shikamaru Nara: Then, what about you, Sensei?
Asuma: I’m nothing. I’m just…
Shikamaru: A sacrificial piece?

Asuma: So…do you know who the King is?
Shikamaru: Isn’t it the Hokage?
Asuma: That’s what I used to think, too. But I was wrong.
Shikamaru: Okay, then who?
Asuma: You’ll know when the time comes.

– Episode 80, ‘Naruto Shippuden’

Even now, coursing through words on a thesaurus site, a banner ad of ‘My Hero Academia’ flashes by – no doubt a story that will remain close to the hearts of the next generation of protagonists.