Mono no aware

Satoshi Kon’s animated adaptation of Tsutsui’s novel Paprika shouldn’t need much of an introduction; at least I hope not since I can’t give an objective view on the film given the immense amount of respect I have for Kon as a director. I’m glad I found out about the English translation of the novel though, not least because Tsutsui is apparently one of Japan’s most well-known science fiction authors; he has a reputation for being notoriously outspoken and prolific, and even wrote the original Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I like him already.

Before launching into the post proper I must admit I found the film more enjoyable than the novel, even putting my love of Kon’s style into account. A story that melds dreams and reality works better for me on screen and I found Kon’s take on the plot (as condensed as it was) to be a bit more cohesive. It captured the spectacle of dreams more effectively, and the mystery of the antagonist(s) was held out longer. That said, Tsutsui’s version is still worth a read whether you’ve seen the film or not.

My advice would be to try both. I love what Kon did with the story but the novel, perhaps inevitably since it’s too long for a scene-for-scene cinematic adaptation, has more explanations regarding the backgrounds to the characters. The translation is a bit clumsy and stilted in places but I prefer the less Americanised style that Andrew Driver writes in. I’m not sure of his nationality but he opted for British rather than American English; since most of, say, the two Murakamis have been handled by stateside translators this was a refreshing change for me. It flows quite well overall, and I feel grateful to Driver for doing his bit in bringing this novel to an international readership.

The novel features a slightly larger cast but the most obvious difference is the way in which the link between Chiba and Paprika is emphasised. Again, I find Kon’s portrayal of this to be slightly more in keeping with the mental weirdness of the story because I think Paprika is more convincing as an inner alter-ego rather than her alias in a literal sense. What Tsutsui does very well though is push the ethical aspect forward more prominently.

The subplot of Chiba and Tokita being in the running for a Nobel Prize for their work in dream-orientated psychological therapy is unique to the novel, and gives a fascinating slant to the proceedings. It holds a larger question mark over the moral implications of what their invention is capable of, not to mention how it adds more weight to the villains’ actions. Rather than being a whiter-than-white heroine of the piece, Chiba’s moral stance is less clear-cut, Tokita is even more naïve and the message about considering the costs of scientific advances comes across more clearly.

It also boosts the office politics and infighting; something that sits well alongside the side-story relating to the character of Mr Noda. It would’ve been enough to have him as a patient of Paprika on his anxiety condition alone, but his circumstances are dealt with in such detail they have some worthy messages of their own. There’s certainly a lot of satire and social commentary here which I really appreciate, but sadly some of that trademark black humour of Tsutsui’s that I’ve heard so much about was lost in translation for me.

What I didn’t expect was the amount of sexual tension running through the entire narrative: given the way in which the environment of dreams plays around with our thoughts, feelings and inhibitions maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised at this. Even so, the Institute for Psychiatric research comes across as a hotbed of simmering passions and sexual deviancy; a scenario that I find hard to believe based on my own experiences in scientific establishments! But eh, it’s an interesting concept when you think about it: considering how they are working with people who have serious mental problems, how do these particular research methods increase the risk of patients’ symptoms rubbing off on their doctors?

Again, it’s questioning the ethics of Chiba’s work when Paprika’s existence is supposedly secret but she is still popular with her patients. As much as Tokita is ridiculed as being irresponsible to the point of being inadvertantly dangerous, Paprika is celebrated by those who know her but they overlook the way in which she doesn’t follow anyone’s rules either. The odd coupling of Chiba and Tokita says a lot about public perceptions too, showing the latter to be relatively honourable next to the physically attractive but rotten-to-the-core Osanai and Inui.

The science is a bit shaky in regards to the dream monitoring technology but I daresay the same could be said for the psychology; specialists in the field could no doubt find some plot holes but the technobabble is able to hold the narrative together, at least in Paprika’s whacked-out universe. It may not stand up to scrutiny up close but the terminology is fun and convincing enough for the task at hand: namely immersing the reader in a vivid dreamworld.

So then, if you’ve already watched the film there are just enough surprises and interesting asides to make it worth your time (it made me appreciate what the movie accomplishes even more, actually), but if you haven’t I recommend you pick up the novel then check out how it’s brought to life by Kon’s vision afterwards. Someday I might actually be able to blog about one of his other movies again…

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