From the beginning, Koko has clearly seen Spirit Circle as a kind of revenge narrative. She must get her revenge on Fuuta, and hopefully break the cycle in the process, but the revenge part at least is paramount. Of course, simply punishing this boy who doesn’t even know what he’s done wouldn’t be particularly satisfying – so first, she must make him understand the weight of all the suffering he’s caused her. It’s an instinct almost anyone can relate to; revenge is in large part about wanting someone else to understand and pay back the pain they inflicted on you, and if we could simply share our pain directly, then we might not lash out through other means.
Tag Archives: Satoshi Mizukami
The Great and Terrible Cycle: Mizukami’s Spirit Circle (Volume One)
Satoshi Mizukami has weathered a long and circuitous road on his way to western acclaim. Though his Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer has long been lauded as a unique, ambitious, and heartfelt twist on the shonen formula, it only received an official translation long after its release, and never received an anime adaptation. Most recently, his Planet With demonstrated both the power and limitations of translating Mizukami’s work to animation, but without that translating into anything approaching wide appeal (in spite of my best efforts). And nestled between those two works, we find the brief, beautiful, and utterly characteristic Spirit Circle.