Cloudman as an attack on Japanese nationalism and xenophobia
First, let me briefly introduce myself. I'm pretty much a regular young adult with an appetite for high-quality storytelling. This is the main reason Killer7 was such a joy to play for me. The themes and storytelling techniques so fascinated me that I combed the internet for thought-provoking discussions and ideas about the game. This is how I found my way here. I've enjoyed reading several of the discussions on this board, but didn't feel I had much to contribute. Recently, however, I have developed the following theory about the "Cloudman" chapter, and I decided to share it here. I believe "Cloudman" can be interpreted as a negative comment (shortened to "attack" in the topic title) on Japanese nationalism and xenophobia. Much of my evidence will come from this cutscene from near the end of "Cloudman." Feel free to familiarize yourself with it. Before I get to that, I must first briefly discuss Ulmeyda and the Yakumo. "Hand in Killer7" states that Ulmeyda possessed part of the Yakumo. I subscribe to Topdrunkee's theory that the intended function of the Yakumo Cabinet policy parallels the intended function of the New American Century manifesto (see Catastrophe from the East). If the New American Century manifesto had the objective of making the U.S. a "ruler of the world," the Yakumo Cabinet policy likely could have a similar goal. To that end, the Yakumo would likely have been written to encourage the Japanese people that the position as a "ruler of the world" befits Japan. The easiest way to accomplish this, in my mind, would be to exploit nationalism and xenophobia among the Japanese population. Historically, the Japanese have believed that their nation and people are superior to all others. This is not a unique belief, and this can be argued of several cultures and countries. However, there are features of the Japanese version of this ideology that set it apart from other incarnations, and in my mind, signify that it is stronger than others. First, Japan was a closed country for centuries, meaning that foreigners were usually prohibited from entering the country. Exceptions were made for commerce, notably with Chinese traders and, eventually, European traders such as the Dutch and Portuguese. Largely, however, foreigners were not allowed in Japan. This is no longer the case in the legal sense, though xenophobic attitudes certainly continue to exist. Additionally, Japan's shift to imperialism near the turn of the 20th century resulted in a ruthless conquest of East Asia the likes of which history had not seen since the Mongol Empire, which admittedly was a significantly more successful campaign (see this map of the chronology of Japanese Expansion). There is no telling how much farther the expansion could have gone had the Axis Powers won World War II. Exploiting nationalistic and xenophobic attitudes seems like a perfectly logical way to unite Japan in a movement to bring the world under Japanese rule. Therefore, I believe an attempt at this was made in the construction of the Yakumo Cabinet policy. This is precisely the part of the Yakumo that I believe Ulmeyda possessed. I must first admit that others have made strong cases to support the idea that Ulmeyda possessed a part of the Yakumo that taught how to rule through the mass distribution of misinformation. I believe that this is very likely, but I would argue that Ulmeyda could certainly have possessed more of the Yakumo than this theory implies. "Hand in Killer7" says that Ulmeyda "... possessed part of the Yakumo," not "a part." If what I have so far theorized is correct, then how would Ulmeyda, a non-Japanese, interpret any appeals to Japanese nationalism and xenophobia that stem from beliefs in cultural superiority? I believe this can be explained by his "hobbies" of human guinea-pig -*test*-('")ing and making vaccinations for several diseases. I believe Ulmeyda's interpretation of the Yakumo motivated him to create a superior people, one that is immune to several deadly viruses and that can travel across land faster than normal humans (I should note that I believe the reason for "Clemence's job" was to -*test*-('") how fast a person could travel in a supersonic car before being killed, and then to use the findings to improve that result. The ability to travel quickly on roads would be highly beneficial in a world connected by intercontinental expressways, and a group of people with that ability would have several advantages over others without it). If you still think I'm onto something, you may now be asking "Okay mister, riddle me this. You said Suda 51 used this chapter to make a negative comment on Japanese xenophobia and nationalism. Where does that bit come in?" Right now! “Don’t be alarmed! These are good citizens. No ‘Heaven Smile!’” -Andrei Ulmeyda "I infected myself with all kinds of deadly viruses. I overcame them time after time, discovering vaccines and creating medicine on the way. I overcame all the symptoms... *sigh* but them... 'Smilies...' Hoo! they're different. The risks involved are at another realm. I mean, it's flirtin' with fucking death itself. I... I... I want you to kill me. If I catch Heaven Smile, you gotta kill me!" -Andrei Ulmeyda My theory assumes that the Yakumo channels nationalistic and xenophobic attitudes, which are detrimental to a diverse, dynamic, global society, into factors by which Japan should become stronger. I believe this is reflected in Ulmeyda’s “hobby.” He infects himself with diseases in order to create medicine to strengthen himself and his society. The diseases here act like Japanese nationalism and xenophobia, and possibly other ideologies that strengthened Japan during WWII. Another historically cultural belief in Japan is the notion of death before dishonor. In WWII, this was taken to an extreme in the form of suicide attacks by military pilots, popularly dubbed “kamikaze” by English language translators shortly following the war’s end. The Heaven Smiles resemble the World War II kamikaze pilots in many ways. For one, both of their names share an element of the divine (Kamikaze meaning "divine wind," and the word "heaven" in Heaven Smile). Most notably, however, is the fact that both of them are suicide bombers that come right toward you and will blow both of you up unless you shoot them down beforehand. In the game, Heaven Smile is a disease. Andrei, however, refused to use this disease to create a vaccine, citing the daunting risks inherent in the process. Although it isn’t explicitly stated, we are led to believe that Andre has been involved in his “hobby” for a long time (“I overcame them, time after time…”). Chances are he’s experimented with several diseases in the past, each one more dangerous than the last, leading up to Heaven Smile, the one he refuses to try. Kamikaze tactics, the ultimate embodiment of “death before dishonor,” were used late in the war. The first account of a kamikaze attack by eyewitnesses was a spontaneous incident on October 21, 1944 (ww2australia.gov.au, 2006, "kamikaze"). The first kamikaze special attack unit was formed before this incident, but did not launch an attack until four days later (John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-1945, Random House, 1970, p. 567) It was, therefore, one of the last war tactics adopted in Japan, much like Heaven Smile was the last disease considered by Ulmeyda. Lt. Yukio Seki, the commander of the attack unit, was concerned about the implications of Japan’s resorting to suicide bombing: “Japan's future is bleak if it is forced to kill one of its best pilots .” (Albert Axell & Hideaki Kase, 2002. Kamikaze: Japan's Suicide Gods. London: Pearson Education, p.16.) Although not as outwardly fearful as Ulmeyda, Seki’s obvious concern regarding the tactics reflects Andrei’s. Ulmeyda’s ghastly transformation undeniably confirms the legitimacy of his fears. There is only one word for what he became: monster. I’d bet my bottom dollar that anyone who fears the threat of Japanese Imperialism would be quick to use this word to describe Japan and/or its people. Suda 51 obviously fears what he dubs the “Eastern Threat,” which certainly viewed WWII Japan as a monster. Suda has confirmed that the pulsars were launched from one of the “Eastern Threat” nations, most likely out of fear of a Japanese return to imperialism. I would argue that Suda 51 uses the events of Cloudman to warn the Japanese people that if they are to survive in the 21st century, they cannot allow the world to view them as a threat. This can be most easily achieved by going straight to the source of the problem, nationalism and xenophobia. In Cloudman, Ulmeyda uses the diseases to strengthen himself and his society, but in the end becomes a monster whom the Killer 7 must destroy. During Imperial Japan, nationalism and xenophobia were used to strengthen the Japanese military, but the lengths to which the military went made Japan a monster in the eyes of many, which could even today lead to their destruction. So there you have it. I would like to stress, though it should be obvious, that this is my sole interpretation, and that I don’t have a clue what Suda 51 would have to say about it! I welcome your feedback, positive or negative, and I’ll see you all around.

Re: Cloudman as an attack on Japanese nationalism and xenoph
Wow, now that was deep. I had to read it about 3 or 4 times in order to digest it all. I'm busy as hell trying to reconfigure the layout. (Actually I'm just dling pics of Bible Black http://votivus.org/bb3/geek/index.php *I'm multi tasking.*) I'll take the time to disect this post, since it has to be one of the most compelling & out of the box theories that I've heard. I just might use it for my new sousa.htm page along with Tyler Denton's theory. While in general the logic is sound. There's a couple of nitpicks that I like to mention. (The nitpicks I have are nothing majour. As I said the logic you used is rock solid.) First, Japan was a closed country for centuries, meaning that foreigners were usually prohibited from entering the country. Exceptions were made for commerce, notably with Chinese traders and, eventually, European traders such as the Dutch and Portuguese. Largely, however, foreigners were not allowed in Japan. Actually Japan wasn't as closed as they were believed to be during the time of Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga was the guy who developed most of those gun formations that were later used during the American civil war. During Nobunaga's time he welcomed & courted foreigners often. He would take the ideas that he learned from the West & expand upon them. (Which is something that Japan still does to this day, although on a lesser scale.) Nobunaga was one of those forward thinker types who thought decades ahead of most. Had he not been assassinated, I believe that Japan would be vastly superior (in both economy & political might) than the current Japan of today. (Speaking of which Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power is coming out for the PS2 in Feb. 5. I can't wait for that, heh heh http://www.koei.com/risetopower/) It wasn't until the Sengoku war was over. That Japan eventually became a closed country. This imo, is due to Tokugawa's short sightedness. Tokugawa decided to close off Japan's borders in order to avoid bad influences from Foreign nations. Shortly after Tokugawa unified Japan. Tokugawa had to quell a Christian rebellion led by Amakusa. (The game Samurai Showdown is actually loosely based on the Shimbara rebellion.) Japan's borders were than closed off in order to avoid more skirmishes on the same scale as the Shimbara rebellion. At the time Japan was afraid that they would be the next (Oriental country) in line to be absorbed by the Occidental powers who have already claimed nations such as Philippines, Malaysia, Some parts of China, Formosa, etc. Since Japan no longer welcomed foreigners into their land. They could not keep up with the technological advances that occurred in the West. (Japan's situation would've been immensely different had Japan adopted Nobunaga's foreign diplomacy instead. As Nobunaga was the type who would constantly adapt to his surroundings. Whereas Tokugawa just waits for the right moment to strike. The middle guy Hideyoshi just copied whatever Nobunaga did, but he's nowhere as despotic, or resourceful as Nobunaga.) In short Japan feared of being colonized by Western authority. (Although ironically Japan has been the West's bitch since WW II, lol.) Additionally, Japan's shift to imperialism near the turn of the 20th century resulted in a ruthless conquest of East Asia the likes of which history had not seen since the Mongol Empire, which admittedly was a significantly more successful campaign (see this map of the chronology of Japanese Expansion). There is no telling how much farther the expansion could have gone had the Axis Powers won World War II. Nah, the Mongolians were a true warrior race. They thrived on pillaging, raping & killing, and they were good at it. If the Mongolians were true Lions amongst the wild, than the Japanese were more like Hyena's who scavenged what they could. The only reason why Japan tried to conquer Asia is because they needed resources in order to survive. (Japan were sucker punched into a war that they had no chance of winning. Due to FDR's embargo of U.S. trade with Japan.) While Japan did employ a similar tactic of pillaging, raping & killing. (Which could be compared to the Mongols.) It was not in the same league as that of the Mongols. The Mongols have always given I the impression that they could do whatever they want, and get away with it. Mainly because everybody feared the Mongol's archer calvary formations. Japan on the other hand strikes moi as doing shit erratically in order to survive as a nation. The thing about Japanese superiority was really just propaganda in order to coerce the soldiers to fight for a cause that to me seemed impossible. Yet at the same time I can't blame them, because Japan would've starved to death had Japan not tyrannized Asia. IMO the Axis powers never had a chance. Italy sucked, Germany could've succeeded had Hitler not involved himself with making military tactical decisions that he had little understanding of, and Japan just didn't have enough stable resources in order to be considered a true threat. (In the long term at least.) BTW My family used to be naturalized Japanese during WW II. (We renounced our citizenship after they got their asses kicked.) I believe Ulmeyda's interpretation of the Yakumo motivated him to create a superior people, one that is immune to several deadly viruses and that can travel across land faster than normal humans (I should note that I believe the reason for "Clemence's job" was to -*test*-('") how fast a person could travel in a supersonic car before being killed, and then to use the findings to improve that result. The ability to travel quickly on roads would be highly beneficial in a world connected by intercontinental expressways, and a group of people with that ability would have several advantages over others without it). That's interesting. I'm going to have to include that when I make Ulmeyda's file for the character page. http://www.killer7.3dactionplanet.gamespy.com/psycho.htm Another historically cultural belief in Japan is the notion of death before dishonor. In WWII, this was taken to an extreme in the form of suicide attacks by military pilots, popularly dubbed “kamikaze” by English language translators shortly following the war’s end. That's actually an overblown belief about the Japanese. The Bushido code is often misunderstood. It has nothing to do with being an honourable warrior. The bushido code was devised in order to form a set of guidelines that the Samurai must obey. (In order to keep Samurai from pillaging & killing the local populace on a whim.) The only reason Kamikaze attacks were used had more to do with the fact that the United States destroyed every single one of Japan's anti tank guns. Since Japan no longer had the means necessary to dent the U.S. cruiser's armour. Japan had to improvise. So they used airplanes as bombs instead. The Heaven Smiles resemble the World War II kamikaze pilots in many ways. For one, both of their names share an element of the divine (Kamikaze meaning "divine wind," and the word "heaven" in Heaven Smile). Most notably, however, is the fact that both of them are suicide bombers that come right toward you and will blow both of you up unless you shoot them down beforehand. Kamikaze tactics, the ultimate embodiment of “death before dishonor,” were used late in the war. The first account of a kamikaze attack by eyewitnesses was a spontaneous incident on October 21, 1944 (ww2australia.gov.au, 2006, "kamikaze"). The first kamikaze special attack unit was formed before this incident, but did not launch an attack until four days later (John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-1945, Random House, 1970, p. 567) It was, therefore, one of the last war tactics adopted in Japan, much like Heaven Smile was the last disease considered by Ulmeyda. Lt. Yukio Seki, the commander of the attack unit, was concerned about the implications of Japan’s resorting to suicide bombing: “Japan's future is bleak if it is forced to kill one of its best pilots .” (Albert Axell & Hideaki Kase, 2002. Kamikaze: Japan's Suicide Gods. London: Pearson Education, p.16.) Although not as outwardly fearful as Ulmeyda, Seki’s obvious concern regarding the tactics reflects Andrei’s. Nice. I have no comment. It's already perfect as is. (The allusion between Smiles & Kamikazes.) Ulmeyda’s ghastly transformation undeniably confirms the legitimacy of his fears. There is only one word for what he became: monster. I’d bet my bottom dollar that anyone who fears the threat of Japanese Imperialism would be quick to use this word to describe Japan and/or its people. Suda 51 obviously fears what he dubs the “Eastern Threat,” which certainly viewed WWII Japan as a monster. Suda has confirmed that the pulsars were launched from one of the “Eastern Threat” nations, most likely out of fear of a Japanese return to imperialism. Suda 51 is using the Eastern Threat as some kind of ironic joke that pits Japan & the U.S. against one another before the two countries blow each other up. Basically what Suda is saying is that we have a tendency to fight amongst allies more than we do the actual enemies. The Eastern threat is more of a reference to the irrational belief that Japan will return to imperialism. (Most Japanese live in their own little world, and couldn't care less about politics. Much less the world outside of Japan.) There's no such thing as Imperial Japanese anymore. Japan doesn't even have an army. (One that has the capabilities to invade at least.) If you notice it's usually Korea & China who constantly bring up misinformation & skeletons from the past in order to unite their nations toward a single goal. (Japan) China & Korea don't actually want to destroy Japan though. (Well, maybe North Korea.) It's just that the "Imperial Japanese" card is the easiest tactic to use in order to rally the population toward you own party & sets of beliefs. The reason why K7 references Article 9 so much is because Japan is like a sitting duck trapped between two Tigers. (Korea & China) The only defense that Japan has against a nuclear attack is the nuclear umbrella of the United States. However K7 paints a portrait of what would happen had an actual nuclear attack happened with Article 9 still in place. IMO I too believe that the U.S. would not make a move. The reason for that is because Japan is irrelevant in todays status quo. Japan is just extra baggage from a world that doesn't exist anymore. The climate of WW II still lives on in people's minds, but for the most part it ceases to exist in reality. The United States & the nations around Japan. (Russia, China, Korea, Taiwan, etc.) Would profit more with Japan out of the picture. (In HIK 7, it's said that the U.S. & Japan's neighboring nations are undergoing negotiations deciding on the ownership & divisions of former Japanese territory. When & if Japan gets nuked.) ---- Well that's all the nitpicks that I have. It's nothing too big, since you do have a strong foundation going on here. It's also one of the most original that I've ever heard.

Many thanks, Topdrunkee. My Japanese history is definitely at a very elementary stage right now, so I very much appreciate the corrections. I would have liked to do more historical research, but other factors made it tough to get around to doing that. I'm glad the logic of my argument was apparent, since I focused most of my attention in that department. Ulmeyda has always been a stand-out character for me, and I had always thought that there could be more to his role than meets the eye. As a side note, I had the "spark" for this theory on the can. I really do believe we have epiphanies there.

Great first post Ry. I entered this forum in a similar manner Yeah it's kind of interesting that American people find many aspects of Japanese culture to be strange when America it's self made Japan the way it is. We forced them to open their doors to trading and after WW2 other U.S influences effected their recovering culture. Even though the Kamikaze technique didn't win them the war it is quite interesting the emotional force that it and other Japanese battle techniques induce. After World War 2 Katana's were stock piled in destroyed because of how powerful and scary the morale boost they gave Japanese soldiers was. Here's another interesting tidbit. When the Mongolians attacked Japan for the first time a storm hit decimating the Mongol forces, all that weren't killed by the storm were cut down by Samurai. The Mongols would attack again later organizing the 2nd largest Navel assault in world history against Japan. The result was the same as before, a storm hit again in although it was tougher fight then before the Samurai prevailed. Jump ahead to the end of WW2 America was debating on whether to drop the A-bomb. If they hadn't decided to use the Atomic Bomb and would have attacked Japan with a basic naval assault the result would have been the same as with the Mongols. The day Americans were scheduled to hit Japan's beaches one of the largest storm's ever in the pacific hit where American troops were supposed to land. I'm not suggesting that this is some special occurrence and that Japan is ordained by god(Where was the storm to stop the plane with the A-bomb?). But then again if things would have went that way I'll bet America still would have prevailed, but it would have been much more difficult. But by that same token Japanese losses would have been far greater(So maybe god planned this too. :?: ) :wink: Another good tidbit: Three planes went to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two planes had duds that did nothing and one of the three had the actual bomb. This was done so that one pilot wouldn't bare the weight of having taken so much life.

I read an article a while ago about the guy who dropped the bomb, he died recently, and I have to say...he sounded like a total douchebag. He actually volunteered to be the one to drop the A-bomb, which is something completely different from just agreeing with using the bomb, I mean Truman chose to use the A-bomb and he still greatly regretted it, feeling guilt over something he didn't even personally do, just for a decision he was forced into making. But the actual pilot went out of his way to help with the dropping of the bomb, volunteering to be the actual trigger man that could wipe them all out, and least forgivable of all, he felt no guilt over it the rest of his life, not once losing any sleep over all the little children he killed. That's pathetic. My stepdad once talked about how there were reports of schools being destroyed when he was one of the pilots dropping bombs (regular bombs) in his days as a veteran. He doesn't even know if he personally did anything like that, or if it was another pilot, and he still thinks about it to this day. Yet this guy massacred countless people, something he requested to do, and he doesn't feel the sligh-*test*-('") bit of guilt. People like this, who can be responsible for so many deaths, and still enjoy their life without the sligh-*test*-('") hesitation (look at the man in my sig for another example) are true sociopaths.

Maybe my info is wrong or this occurred on a different one of the two bombings. But yes anyone who can take so much innocent life and not feel regret is a terrible person. Are their video's of this guy on youtube?

I'm a sociopath. Obviously I've never done anything quite on the scale as to what the atom bomb pilot did.I think a large number of Americans would fit the description of sociopath these days, considering how they feel that all poor people are to blame for their life, and that wars should declared without thinking them over first since they only harm people in other countries. Then again, maybe that's not a new thing, since fifty years ago people started calling any form of charity communism, and that we should nuke any country as we see fit. The only thing I would feel guilty for are the deaths of pets such as dogs. Pets live life true to themselves in the cycle of nature.It's funny how you call yourself a sociopath when people who would never use that word to describe themselves not only care nothing about other humans, but animals either. I've noticed even kids that seem to find enjoyment in harming animals. People like that inherently need to be 'disciplined'. And not sexually. ...unless they're hot. All I have to say is that it's better for one man to bomb the fuck out of an entire country rather than to have an army of men guilty by association trying to invade an island only to come back being traumatized for life, because they had to kill a shit load of women & children who were intent on killing the American invaders no matter what the cost. I'd have to disagree with you, as I could never bring myself to condone the mass extermination of civilians, and children in particular. Then again, I can't really say for sure how the war would have otherwise turned out. I understand that the Japanese people viewed their emperor as a god, so they may have been willing to fight to the very end, though I don't know how far Hirohito himself would be willing to take it. Even if he had no compassion for his own people, of which I can't be sure, he would probably wish to surrender before his own life were to be lost. I'm not sure what would have been the path to take that would lead to the least bloodshed, but I don't think the decision to drop the second bomb on Nagasaki could ever be forgiven, since they gave the Japanese only three days before another act of genocide was committed. I believe that the pilot actually is compassionate, and he only did what he did out of misdirected love for his country. Nah, he's an asshole, you had to read the article about him. There's no compassion in volunteering to be the 'trigger man', and not feeling any remorse over it, whether you had a choice or not. I'd sooner piss on his grave than respect him. As for beliefs that he was indoctrinated with, it ultimately leads to the question of how personally responsible one can be when raised to hold beliefs that others would consider 'evil'. While it was the standard belief that slavery was okay in the south, many people still viewed it as an atrocity, while many serial killers grew up in households where murder was generally frowned upon. http://ampontan.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/japanese-officials-encouraged-by-hillarys-loss/#commentsI admit I don't really follow the political landscape of current U.S. relations with Asia, so I have to ask, which party do you think has better relations with Japan? It would seem like republicans are more at odds with China, considering they're the typical conservative base that hates 'commies', but at the same time they're obsessed with free trade, and many of the lobbyists they 'do business' with are employed by corporations that are dependant on China for their business. Meanwhile, China commits the kind of atrocities democrats usually frown on, but for some reason, they're as much a bunch of pussies with China as they are with congress.

I found fun when I was a kid plucking legs off them long legged bugs and sqeezing slugs. Now, I tend to be a pacifist.

I have 3 question (sorry if they are sutpid): -Does it matter the fact that Ulmeyda is black ? -Why Garcian doesnt seem to be affected by the raining blood? -Any reason why Ulmeyda's afro detaches from his head?