RANTS— THE MOST CAPTIVATING MONOLOGUES IN ANIME HISTORY.

One of the beauties of cinema is the written word. It is a gift that keeps on giving. Nothing brings a character to life more than a captivating monologue. It could be a rant, an emotional outburst, a fit or rage or even a motivational speech. The bottom line is that these moments are the most pivotal, because a story is told most understandably with words, and a good monologue etches characters deep in the annals of history.

It is in this light that Animatrix is beginning a new, month-long series called Rants, where we will give you a selection of three of the greatest monologues in anime history, once a week. Just a few times when everything else went dim and the writer cooked so hard that all of us got goosebumps.

SUICIDE CHARGE. (ATTACK ON TITAN)

"Standing and waiting just means we'll be showered by more boulders. Get ready on the double! No matter what dreams or hopes you had, no matter how blessed a life you've lived, it's all the same if you're shredded by rocks. Everyone will die someday. Does this mean life is meaningless? Was there even any meaning in our being born? Would you say that of our fallen comrades? Their lives, were they meaningless? NO, THEY WEREN'T! It's us who gives meaning to our comrades' lives! The brave fallen! The anguished fallen! The ones who will remember them...are us, the living! We die trusting the living who follow to find meaning in our lives! That is the sole method in which we can rebel against this cruel world! MY SOLDIERS, RAGE! MY SOLDIERS, SCREAM! MY SOLDIERS, FIGHT!"

Imagine going to war after such a powerful speech from your commander. The atmosphere over the Survey Corps must have been electric going into that war against the Beast Titan. The odds were against them, well enough, but like they sa, “when a man goes into war with the cards stacked against him, it’s either he’s brave or he’s stupid.”

This speech summed up the psyche of Erwin Smith to every viewer: an iron mentality and undeterring resilience. He tells his men, with no words spared, that they had every right to be afraid, but they had to fight regardless, because they weren’t doing it for themselves alone. This battle was for every comrade that bit the dust. Every loved one that met a painful ending.

NAGATO’S PAINFUL OUTBURST. (NARUTO: SHIPPUDEN)

"Oh, I see, that is noble of you. That would be justice. However, what about my family? My friends? My village? They suffered the same fate as this village at the hands of you, Hidden Leaf ninja. How is it fair to let only you people preach about peace and justice? Once, the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf had grown too big. To protect their national interest, they forced feudal clans to wage war against each other, and profited from it. Otherwise, the people of the villages would have starved. As it happened, our little nation and its villages became the battlefield where the great nations waged their war. Each time they did, our nation was ravaged and laid to waste. After many such battles, the great nations stabilized, but our smaller nation suffered, and it barely recovered. You and I are both seeking the very same thing. We both want to achieve the peace that Jiraiya-sensei envisioned. You and I are the same. We're both motivated by our desire for peace and justice. The justice that I have delivered against the Leaf Village is no different from what you are trying to do to me. Everyone feels the same pain when losing something dear. You and I have both experienced that pain. You strive for your justice and I strive for mine. We're both just ordinary men who have been driven to seek vengeance in the name of justice. And if one comes to call vengeance 'justice,' such justice will only breed further vengeance, and trigger a vicious Cycle of Hatred. Right now we live in such a cycle. I know the past and can foretell our future. It is the same as our history. So we believe that human beings simply cannot understand each other, and they never will. The shinobi world of ours is ruled by hatred and hatred alone."

Nagato, alias Pain, goes on an inspired rant about how his perspective has never really been considered, and how he sees himself no different from Naruto. He tells Naruto, basically, that they were both doing the same thing, but just with different methods. They had the same driving forces. He only operated in an unconventional manner. He might’ve been the villain in this situation, but he did not say a single thing wrong. He and Naruto had their fair share of pain, and his way of fighting through it and handling it was just different. Sometimes, you have to ask the question— why must anyone be told how to handle their pain?

LIGHT YAGAMI’S ADMISSION (DEATH NOTE)

"That's right, I am Kira. And what can you do? Kill me right here? Hear this: I'm not only Kira, but I am also god of the new world! Kira has become law in the world we now live. He's the one who's maintaining order. I have become justice. The only hope for mankind. Kill me? Is that really the right thing to do? Since Kira's appearance six years ago, wars have stopped and global crime rates have been reduced by over 70%. But... it's not enough. This world is still rotten with too many rotten people. Somebody has to do this! And when I first got that notebook all those years ago, I knew I had to do it—no, I was the only one who could. I understood that killing people was a crime. There was no other way! The world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could do it. Who else could have done it and come this far? Would they have kept going? The only one who can create a new world is me."

After many kills and near falls, Light finally admits that he’s Kira. It’s been him all along, dropping the most wanted criminals like flies. He asks a simple question— “how on earth have I been made out to be the bad guy here?” He was almost solely responsible for the safety of the planet. The world had never been so quiet. People had never been so free, and yet, he was painted the villain? He argues that not once did he ever want to use the book in bad faith, and yet, they kept trying to uncover his identity. He argues that he is on the good side, and he doesn't deserve the unnecessary scrutiny. The fact that a man doing such good still gets such treatment tells you everything you need to know about the world. For the “balance” to remain struck, power must stay in the wrong hands and people like Light Yagami, even with their shortcomings, are threats to that balance.

That was one hell of a lineup, right?

Join us next week for part 2. It’s even better.