So, in the continued quest for things of interest, I turned to C21stBoys beloved Earth Maiden Arjuna, largely on the grounds that something which could summon that much passion out of a person had to be worth a look. And, hey hey, a show with a driving purpose and all that. And strangely enough, within a few episodes I found myself comparing it to Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, which felt like the antithesis to Arjuna.

We’re urged to embrace an intriguing idea of the “now” in Arjuna, that we’re each merely a composite of organic material in flux within an ecosystem, which the actions of modern human society unsettles. That the thing to do is to realise my existence as part of the system. In contrast, Gurren-Lagann says that I should strive towards my personal goals, that evolutionary organisms will break every barrier, nature Red etc.

Overpopulate, advance, discover, triumph. Maybe I’ll risk destroying the universe acting like this, but hell, then I’ll just spin on to the next level. The problem I always had with Gurren-Lagann comes from my carefully cultivated inner Rossiu, who thinks that you should go for what’s guaranteed, not for the the “pure” win. Arjuna offers another perspective, that those spiral impulses make for a failed society. And like Gurren-Lagann it wraps its ideas up in a genre.

Arjuna asks whether we’re too busy with immediate aims to miss an unnatural malaise in a world that’s no longer holistically functional. Our titanic social structures create alienated people tied by their every social relationship to an all consuming industrial system. There’s no point to us advancing if we’re not going to get closer to each other, or to the reality of being a person, that aforementioned “now” – to be found in nature.

Well then, I don’t see ecosystems as stable and harmonious, and I do believe in the advantages of technology, in chasing the future. Arjuna feels at one with all life on earth, I don’t believe that such a feeling can ever reflect reality, and so I see the blessings of our age rather than potential for a naturalist utopia. To bring up another Gainax show – Evangelion’s view of people as fundamentally segregated entities feels truer to me than Arjuna’s dreams of collective harmony. Which is not to say that I don’t believe in social change, but rather that I’d reject the location Arjuna looks to.

As far as I’m concerned, Gaia theory and such spiritualising of nature is just hopeless romanticism, far more offensive than Gurren-Lagann’s optimism. Why surrender oneself to something that doesn’t exist? The show suggests that back in the day humans used to have a genuine spiritual connection to the world, provoking my sceptics’ ire. Likewise, I think presenting a character mutated by healthcare chemicals without paying attention to the entirely natural terrors which have been solved by technology involves a simply misleading view of the world.

Despite becoming increasingly aware of my differences with the worldview expressed in Arjuna, I actually got progressively more into the series as it continued, before falling out with it at the end. Initially I was put off by the fact that Arjuna’s basic formulae aren’t in the least bit appealing to me. Gurren-Lagann is bright, frenetic, funny and so forth, Arjuna relies on conjuring beauty, and as such is less immediately rewarding.

This is my first “magical girl” show, and the magical girlery wasn’t any fun in itself, and nowhere near as well constructed as the central relationship was. The magical sections felt like a weak link. This was not helped by things like the ill-defined role played by the menacing tapewormish Raaja, the shoddy-ness of the CGI God Ashura, or the arbitrary conclusion to the series – which works with the storylike logic of a magical girl series, rather than the reasoning of a series genuinely concerned for society.

Arjuna gives the lie to the notion that a show can be truly beautiful just by being pretty – the beauty of Arjuna is found when connects to day to day life, not in the glowing pinkgirl, immersive CGI-assisted explorations and (superb) soundtrack. That beauty is evident at its best during the midsection of the series – set apart from the initial scene-setting and inevitable cataclysmic finale.

Even for someone substantially at odds with the vision of the world laid out here, there’s value to be found in the series. To earn our respect, and our involvement with its concepts, the show needs to forge a mental connection with the viewer. A show like Gurren-Lagann just needs to keep our attention – because its depths are so often implicit. Arjuna’s are all up front. It has to talk to us.

A pretty common criticism of the show is this didacticism – it’s willingness to make very direct social criticisms, which can feel blunt and unsophisticated. Oddly I found some of its most direct moments (a couple of talky talky epilogues) to be amongst the most striking and effective scenes. Although keen to throw up complaints (abortion, antibiotics, junk food, whatever), it becomes apparent the series doesn’t concern itself with social reform but with reshaping humanity itself. Those criticisms add up to a negative evocation, a wish that humanity could see the world as a spiritual entity and so achieve self-surrender for our own good.

One thing which caught my eye, and an example of the genuine value to be found in elements of the series, was how Arjuna dealt with words. That the process of labelling things segregates us and creates realities in our heads, which mean false truths and misunderstanding. Now I don’t entirely agree with the negative take on the effect of using words, but it does get at something central to the human condition and how our thought processes distinguish us as animals. Though I found the sum of Arjuna’s ideas unproductive, this kind of idea retains a certain beauty which elevates the series. Which is an amusing position to find myself in.

I mean here I am, saying that my thought out wordy reason contradicts this critique of humanity as wordy categorizer (amongst other things). Dead end rather. But there you have it – my belief that reason and human power can create a better society. What’s that belief really based in? A rejection of solvable natural injustice for the individual, of the power(ah?) of the idea that we’re all “one”. I agree that we create something beyond us in society, but I can’t accept fetishising the “natural” as an answer – as an alternative universal in which to place our trust. It appears that I believe that spirals can overcome the very barriers they impose on themselves, that we can work it out.

Of course that’s precisely why Gurren-Lagann isn’t really the anti-Arjuna. Because the barriers in Gurren-Lagann are generally spiral-imposed, everybody just stopped hoping, wheras our heroes fought on regardless. Arjuna doesn’t set itself up as brave spirals vs pessimistic surrender, but as thoughtless spirals vs natural unity. It suggests a different sort of menace, and provides a different exemplar. And it seems that’s where I come in – unsure of Gurren-Lagann’s compatibility with reality, but at odds with Arjunas romantic idea of nature. It makes me think of what unifies the two series – a belief in the need for something heaven shattering.