In 1990, Japanese mangaka, ウィリアム・スタイグ (William Steig) wrote a manga called シュレック (Shrek). The manga went mainly unnoticed, until now. In 2001, an anime adaptation was made. Finally, Shurekku-kun would star in his own film. Shurekku-kun is widely appreciated in Japanese culture. In the American translation, he is known as Shrek, so for the sake of the blog, I’ll call him that.
Shrek begins with Shrek-kun enjoying his daily activities. Shrek-kun’s character design was very well chosen. His green color represents his jealousy and pride, and his beige clothes represents him hiding his true personality. スマッシュ口 (Smash Mouth) composed the anime opening. It is a very well known anime opening known as オールスター (All Star). With a very smooth transition, we see the villagers preparing to strike down Shrek-kun. As the villagers get closer and closer to Shrek-kun, he eats his warm meal. When the villagers finally come, Shrek-kun gets up to confront them. Using his special move, Shrek-kun is able to scare away the villagers. Notice that Shrek-kun does not kill them; this is subtle foreshadowing of Shrek-kun’s true nature.
In the next scene, we see Donkey-san being ready to be sold with the other fantasy creatures. This is an allegory for when the Indians were kicked out by the Americans. Donkey-san, being one of the smarter characters in the anime, calculates the exact angle of where some fairy dust will fall. He uses the fairy dust to fly and get away. Unfortunately, he gets chased down by several guards. That’s when Donkey-san runs into Shrek-kun. Donkey-san is not afraid of Shrek-kun, showing is brave personality. Using his power, Shrek-kun uses his power to scare away the guards. Shrek-kun does not like Donkey-san, due to his abrasive nature. However, feeling indebted to Shrek-kun, Donkey-san sticks around with him. Begrudgingly, Shrek-kun decides to let Donkey-san stay with him. That night, Shrek hears some noise. It is the other storybook characters, seeking refuge in Shrek-kun’s home. Taken aback, Shrek-kun storms into his front yard and yells his infamous line:
あなたは私の沼で何をしていますか？
(What are you doing in my swamp?)
Desperate to reclaim his home, Donkey-kun and he set off to confront Lord Farquaad, the man who set the creatures to his home. Meanwhile, Farquadd is attempting to become prince. He is told that he must marry a princess to become one. After looking at his options, he chooses Fiona-chan. Farquaad decides to test his men and see which one will retrieve the princess for him. That is the same moment when Shrek-kun and Donkey-san arrive. Noticing them, Farquaad orders his men to kill the two. In this beautifully crafted fight scene, we are able to witness Shrek-kun’s brute strength and Donkey-san’s cunning traps. After defeating Farquad’s men, Farquaad decides to strike a deal with Shrek-kun. Shrek-kun will retrieve the princess, and then he will get his swamp back. Shrek-kun and Donkey-san set off. It is a perilous journey, but they arrive at the castle in which the princess is kept.
We will continue out analyzing of シュレック next week. Stay tuned.