Table of Contents for Debunking the Tragic Asshole
- Debunking the “Tragic Asshole”: Eirikrjrs Lied about the Kabbalah References in SMT Nocturne
- Debunking the “Tragic Asshole”: Debunking Eirikrjs “Maniacs Retcon Woes” without any snarky comments
- Debunking the “Tragic Asshole”: Why JJCAT Only Proves Eirikjrs is Looking for Racism when there is None
Warning: This contains Major Spoilers for all MegaTen games, especially Mainline SMT games and Raidou games. Also, this contains Major Spoilers for the Japanese anime film and manga of Akira and the US Sci-fi film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This is in response to Eirikjrs blog post titled “Japanese-Jewish Common Ancestry Theory & Shin Megami Tensei: Pseudohistorical Fantasies into Anti-Semitic Nightmares” where he projects Anti-Semitic views on Japanese people by targeting a video game studio of hardworking ethnic minorities who can’t defend themselves from his accusations since they don’t know our language or who he is and wouldn’t be familiar with some random blogger like Eirikjrs. When reading below, please click on the images of the quotes from his blog to read them fully.
Here are the criticisms to each of his main points in his lengthy, 4 hour diatribe of idiotic jokes, poor reasoning, lack of any sound premise for his thesis, and what essentially amounts to a crazy loon using his privileged position to discriminate against an entire ethnic group and their culture by labeling it all as racist as an unironic pretext to flatter himself about opposing racism in the eyes of his gullible Tumblr fans who think any lengthy blog post about a topic must be true without reading it because this guy occasionally posts hard to find scans of artwork of the very people that he’s repeatedly calling racist and idiotic because they’re Japanese.
My initial counter premise was the following: Just because they’re utilizing JJCAT as an occult background doesn’t mean that they’re anti-Semitic at all. The SMTII version of Yahweh is the Old Testament one – which you yourself assert wasn’t involved with JJCAT or anti-semitic in anyway, but the SMT3 – IVA Yahweh is clearly derivative of, and quite explicitly, the New Testament version of Yahweh. The Christian-Islamic Yahweh of the Abrahamic faiths. However, I’ve since added the caveat that Eirikjrs has always been a racist bigot who hates all Japanese people and their culture. This man refuses to engage in any dialogue that disproves his racist views against Japanese people. He will constantly add and re-add new material to his old content to label Atlus Japan as either racist or heavily imply that they’re ignorant or stupid for being Japanese. He is not interested in honest discussion, he doesn’t support criticism in his blog posts which is why he never bothered addressing my criticisms for over three years, and only ever responds to people that mostly agree with him and help to justify his racist views. Without further ado:
This is an entirely dubious claim. Raidou is working for Yahweh and keeping the peace in Japan. He’s stopping the use of and violence made by Chaos deities and even faces off against deities with Japanese motifs and backgrounds for the sake of helping Yahweh preserve Japan’s safety. Sure, it follows the divide that you speak of, but he’s still protecting Japanese people via taking down dangerous Japanese deities.
This one is totally contradicted within the main plot of the original DS version of Strange Journey itself, the Mother Goddesses created the universe, world, and the first humans in SJ. Yahweh came after and deposed them and sealed them away. Mem Aleph is the real creator and is distinctly stated to precede Yahweh. So, Eirikjrs was totally wrong in this passage.
Hoooboy, this is completely, irrefutably wrong.
Maitreya and the Mitra-Bosatsu connection comes from Theosophy, the very religious-spiritual ideas that Eirikr was criticizing as wrongly portrayed. They very liberally use Maitreya as a go-to messiah and make the assertion that the death of Krishna’s Kalki form will signify the emergence of a new world under the process of kali yuga (sound familiar?). So, we can ascertain that Atlus was simply using theosophy throughout the story of IV and IVA (the White and the Divine Powers).
As proof, here is a relevant passage:
“He will appear as Maitreya Buddha, the last of the Avatars and Buddhas, in the seventh Race. This belief and expectation are universal throughout the East. Only it is not in the Kali yug, our present terrifically materialistic age of Darkness, the “Black Age,” that a new Saviour of Humanity can ever appear.” (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 1., pg. 470, 1888)
“The Buddhist teaching of the coming of Maitreya, the future Buddha, actually refers to the same future event as the coming of the Kalki Avatar prophesied in the Hindu scriptures and the Soshiosh or Saoshyant of the Zoroastrian tradition. They are different names for one and the same thing.” (Theosophical Glossary)
“It is true, as the Hindus say, that the Kalki Avatar (i.e. the Buddha Maitreya) will not appear on Earth until the very end of the Kali Yuga. The Kali Yuga is the “Dark Age” through which mankind is presently passing. It began 5,000 years ago “at the moment of Krishna’s death” and will not end until sometime around the close of the 6th Root Race. We are currently still in the 5th Root Race and even the dawn of the 6th Root Race is still thousands of years in the future.” (see Maitreya in the Light of Real Theosophy)
My Original Source was the following: https://theacademiciantheosophical.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/the-truth-about-the-future-maitreya-buddha-in-theosophical-writings/
Unfortunately, this blog site seems to have shut down, but the quotes I shared and their citations of the books thereof should still be sufficient. Apologies for this issue.
To reiterate: They’re just using Theosophy. If you recall, Flynn’s humanity is the Fifth race since he’s called the Fifth Son by the White. It’s a reference to Theosophy and a subtle note that Flynn is the Fifth Son of Passover. As is the series tradition, minimalist and brilliant.
I find that last comment about “cringeworthy themes” to be mean-spirited. They corrected their mistake and acknowledged it. When was the last time Call of Duty developers acknowledged their wrongdoing in shooting and bombing mosques in their games while making sure Christian churches couldn’t be damaged? If you want racism and xenophobia, play any CoD game. However, more to the point, how does this contradict the narrative? We were never told the National Defense Divinities histories or why they were unique or why they had items that controlled them. I don’t see any evidence of ruining any backstory mentioned in IV, because it doesn’t seem like anything such as that happened. They were formed to protect the country, that’s all that we were told.
This, by far, is the most illogical leap and the most problematic of his paragraphs. There was no mention of any Jewish conspiracies, there was no attempt at blaming the people of Mikado for what was happening, there is no attempt at saying Jews are somehow responsible for all or any issues in IV that the people of Tokyo suffer through, and I frankly find this “connection” to be utterly disingenuous. They’re using JJCAT occult as a backdrop, but they’re not saying JJCAT was right or that Jews are culpable of any wrongdoing. Furthermore: They’re using the New Testament God, they are very explicitly using the New Testament God. The Bonds group is arguing against the NEW Testament God being a God that does absolutely nothing. Yahweh explicitly preaches the Sermon on the Mount – Jesus Christ’s teachings – in the Anarchy route. The evidence is explicitly and clearly presented to be the New Testament version of Yahweh. Yahweh of IV-IVA is not unambiguously the Jewish God, he’s unambiguously the Christian-Islamic variant of Yahweh. He preaches the Sermon on the Mount and YHVH’s Universe is based on modern interpretations of Islamic Heaven.
The Black Monolith is a reference to 2001 Space Odyssey:
https://starreviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/2001-monolith.jpg
https://filmgrab.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/21-monolith1.png
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MSo6s_xrj4c/hqdefault.jpg
The Film ends with a God Child presumably changing the world:
Akira was a reference to “God Child” Akira from the Film/Manga Akira. The Film’s ending is commonly interpreted to mean that Akira left with Tetsuo so as to help Tetsuo form a new universe. Akira is perceived a God Child in the story. Atlus Japan seemed to be inspired by Tetsuo’s imagery for SMTIV Apocalypse Anarchy Endings final scene. I’m not too familiar with the manga, but evidently the story is different enough from the famous film that Tetsuo is the one performing Akira’s miracles:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fc/c3/06/fcc3060a0e7767a5b2b76f81154a579a.jpg
http://www.tboake.com/film_06/akira2/AKIRA-114_resize.jpg
Also, how can Eirikjrs possibly think Stephen is seen as an ultimate good after playing Anarchy? He gets innocent Tokyoites slaughtered, he brainwashed them into forgetting about his doctor appearance (talk to Fujiwara, Skins, and the guy guarding the Shesha radar door, after Shesha-Flynn’s reveal), and he laughs about trying to brainwash Nanashi. He even knew Shesha-Flynn was a phony and did nothing to warn you, essentially letting Asahi become a victim just like Dagda did. The memories of Akira were given to you by Stephen and in Bonds, he implies it’s a natural consequence of fate. But in Anarchy, he subtly admits to trying to brainwash you into picking Bonds. Nanashi was never destined for anything but dying with Nikkari and Manabu in the start of the game. Stephen was deceiving him throughout the entire story and presenting a false narrative about fate via sending him Akira’s memories.
Also, as a final point, while Baal is seen as a negative light in Nocturne, it’s not only given a more positive interpretation in Devil Survivor, but the story reference is actually reversed to Baal returning to his normal state and abandoning the demonization in Apocalypse. So while they show certain negative interpretations, they’re not opposed to showing the reverse as well. Also, Kagutsuchi is clearly referencing the End of Times, what with Demifiend being an Anti-Christ allusion.
Finally, the deities come from the Axiom. Yahweh is just one of many who could skid the laws because his name was forbidden as time went on. The Axiom is what all gods and goddesses are derived from and not Yahweh. So, again, Eirikr’s argument completely fails. It isn’t just the Bible that has literalism, but all ancient religious stories too, because of how humans perceive and understand phenomena. Humans attaching religious meaning and deity worship to events is what makes them “real”, so it’s not the case of the Bible exclusively being real or that everything is derived from Yahweh since the narrative clearly states that it’s the Axiom.
As a conclusion, I wrote “Overall, I apologize for the harshness, but your analysis is bunk.” before, but I no longer concern myself with harshness when it comes to this racist bigot who hates Japanese people and culture and probably wants to hurt them or otherwise exploit their work for his own personal fame from his gullible tumblr fans who seem to share his racist beliefs which is why they share and reblog his racist views without any criticisms.
On a final note on his ignorant accusations towards SMT Nocturne and SMTIV: Apocalypse / SMTIV Final:
Eirik’s basis for why Nocturne is anti-Jewish is the argument that it’s the Jewish God that they’re fighting. Further examination utterly refutes that argument. He argues that literally killing the Jewish God in SMT2 isn’t anti-semitic because there are no JJCAT connections. In Nocturne, the Masakados that appears claims that it’s not even his Tokyo, the background information mentions Hikawa killing the Gaeans and Messians at Yoyogi park (i.e. the same background as SMT1-2 which he himself said was not anti-Jewish), and then claims it is anti-Jewish because Masakados gave Demi-fiend the Masakados Magatama. So apparently, JJCAT connections are irrelevant here, it’s just the fact that Masakados gave him the Magatama. Yahweh never actually appearing doesn’t exonerate this supposed JJCAT anti-Jewish conspiracy – which is never even mentioned in Nocturne and has absolutely no bearing on the story since they used the Gaean vs Messian divide back in SMT1-2. Moreover, Demi-fiend becoming the Anti-Christ figure should somehow not be used as proof that it has nothing to do with this anti-Jewish nonsense that Eirik is espousing. The themes regarding Demi-fiend’s ascension parallels the Anti-Christ and Nietzsche’s Ubermensch philosophy. The Menorah’s being in the Amala labyrinth is indicative of Demifiend obtaining the full enlightened knowledge, Magatama is a Japanese mythological tool meant to be utilized for humans to ascend to godhood, and the entire narrative is about self-overcoming and self-mastery. If you want to argue the TDE was being presented as “good” – even though, Atlus repeatedly states it’s always up to player interpretation – then why did they even have the Menorah’s representing Demifiend obtaining full knowledge of the universe and a “dark” enlightenment through the Qliphoth? Moreover, should the Lady in Black be called Anti-Irish for clearly paralleling the Goddess Morrigan with encouraging Demifiend to surpass death through struggling, to join their Scriptures of Miroku prophecy, and to accept her love and aid? Is Demifiend anti-Christian because Atlus wanted to present a reversal of the End of Times from the opposing viewpoint in the Labyrinth of Amala explanations?
Evidently, using the ancient Christian context of Arbiter for Satan is proof of anti-Jewishness – even though this is an ancient Christian concept and Jewish people only defined Satan as “Ha-Satan” – the adversary and the enemy but not as a fallen angel. Eirikjrs doesn’t seem to be aware that he is literally arguing a Christian concept is proof that it’s Jewish and anti-Jewish at that, when all I’m saying is that using a Christian concept isn’t proof of anti-Jewishness.
Then we come to Yahweh himself and his mannerisms: in the Anarchy route, he’s clearly espousing Jesus Christ’s teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and you’re denying the teachings of Jesus to destroy him. Evidently, using Jesus Christ’s teachings is “proof of anti-Jewishness” and my opposition to this by pointing out that they’re literally using Jesus Christ’s most famous teachings in the Bible is somehow “not relevant” or that Atlus somehow did it to intentionally deceive players and “hide” the anti-Jewishness, somehow maybe, or something.
Atlus containing a series of side quests where the major revelation is that a lunatic ultra-conservative jingoist and Japanese ethnocentrist was responsible for the world’s nuclear holocaust is… “cherrypicking” and “hiding” the anti-Jewish nature too. Evidently, going out of their way to listen to fans about the problematic anti-foreign narrative and providing a massive backstory about how this one raving Japanese ethnocentrist politician is largely to blame is somehow “hiding” the anti-Jewish nature and it’s actually about Japanese people being better than others. Even though the narrative is clearly saying the opposite – especially when you’re trying to stop a psychotic Izanami from wiping out the current population to make a more “pure Japanese” one. Clearly, this is not admitting their own wrongdoing and pointing out their culture can have these problems too. No, no, this is trying to hide their “anti-Jewishness” by providing a counter narrative that criticizes themselves so they can keep hiding their anti-jewishness. Oh, and this creates “plot holes” that Eirikjrs never bothers to get into about the National Defense deities. Despite the fact that nothing about their background was really ever told to us in IV, this more fleshed out background creates “plot holes” despite that, evidently.
To top it all off, all this anti-Jewishness is based on JJCAT in the 1800s basing connections between Tengu and Jews off of a racist remark about Jewish noses and Kaneko saying that he likes flawed heroes which is why he has Masakados opposing the Japanese royal family, based on a theory that says the royal family has Jewish origins – which Masakados himself must also have since he was a part of the royal family. Kaneko, a Japanese artist who personally loves Masakados, is evidently unaware of this anti-Jewish narrative that he’s perpetuating of the Japanese royal family being descended from a lost Jewish tribe and JJCAT enthusiasts making a racist remark back in the 1800s. This is not simply an insane leap in logic that doesn’t make coherent sense on Eirikjrs part, right?
Evidently, the JJCAT theory is morally equivalent to the racist Elder of Zion conspiracy which argues that Jews are responsible for all major wars, faked the Holocaust, own all the banks and control all our money, and are responsible for slavery of blacks and wish to kill all Christians is morally equivalent to a bunch of Japanese Christian fundies making a distasteful remark about Jewish noses to argue that Jews are part of a divine Japanese bloodline and divine gods who helped people. Yes, this is all somehow morally equivalent. Oh, and using Jewish culture to portray ultimate wisdom and enlightenment in IV and Nocturne against an opposing side that has a mix of Abrahamic artistic elements is anti-semitic and somehow morally equivalent to saying that Jews are responsible for all wars, faked the holocaust, and own all the banks to hurt Christian people as still touted by the KKK and other neo-Nazi groups.
Let’s further ignore the warning on practically every Atlus game that explicitly states that none of their story depictions are meant to reference real people or events. Apparently, those can’t mean that Atlus Japan just likes exploring fictional concepts and don’t hold prejudiced views because they believe that their fanbase is mature enough to tell the difference between reality and fiction, right?
Oh, and for all you Eirikjrs fans out there, I’ll stop calling him a racist, when he stops accusing Japanese people and Atlus Japan’s staff of all being jingoist, anti-Semitic, and accusing an entire ethnic group of all being deplorable racists. It’s only fair.